TWO  PILLARS 
THE  GREAT  TEMPLE  OF  CYBELE 


The  Author's  Summary 

Two  pillars,  only,  of  the  colonnade  of  eighty  that  graced 
the  great  Temple  of  Cybele,  stand  to-day,  half  buried  in  the 
debris  of  centuries — sole  relics  of  renowned  and  historic 
Sardis. 

This,  the  richest  city  of  her  day,  was  seat  of  Empire  for  the 
vast  realm  of  Croesus — heir  to  the  fabulous  riches  of  Midas 
— where  he  reigned  supreme  in  untold  luxury  and  pride. 
Here,  later,  flourished  one  of  the  seven  Churches  of  the 
Apocalypse.  Cyrus  the  Great  led  his  cohorts  into  Lydia, 
and  left  Sardis  the  seat  of  a  mere  satrapy  in  the  Medo- 
Persian  Empire.  The  day  of  decline  had  fallen  on  imperial 
Sardis. 

The  treasures  of  Croesus  vanished — his  jewels  and  hoards 
of  gold  were  forever  scattered.  The  mighty  structures 
raised  in  the  prime  of  his  dominion  to  honor  names  no 
longer  heard  in  history  or  legend,  crumbled  and  moulded  to 
decay.  The  very  name  is  but  a  symbol  of  the  vanity  of 
riches. 

Successive  hordes  of  warriors  that  have  trampled  these 
Oriental  lands  are  dust.  Hillocks  of  unmarked  tombs 
shelter  alike  prince  and  pauper — old  and  young — rich  and 
poor.  Thickly  they  dot  the  plains  around;  retreats  are 
they  now  for  reptiles — homes  for  crawling  things  that  shun 
the  light  of  day.  Man,  the  "Lord  of  creation,"  has  sunk 
into  the  oblivion  of  the  grave 

Blooms  the  gay,  wild,  poppy  on  Lydia s  hillsides;  creeps 
the  humble  liquorice  vine  throughout  the  historic  valley  of 
Hermus — clothing  its  fertile  reaches — twining  even  between 
the  stones  of  the  long  deserted  Roman  roadway  Sweet 
reigns  the  perfume  of  the  rose  that  from  every  brier-tangle 
ladens  the  breeze.  Nature  in  her  lowliest  guise  sets  con- 
quering foot  on  the  proudest  triumphs  of  King  and  Empire. 

The  story  of  Sardis  is  but  a  dot  on  history's  page,  scored 
by  the  inexorable  pen  of  Fate  for  all  who  have  eyes  to  see. 
Speaks  not  Fate  to-day  the  same  message  into  ears  that  are 
dead?  Holds  she  not  the  same  mirror  before  unheeding 
eyes?  Who,  in  this — America's  day  of  power,  and  pride,  and 
luxury — casts  one  backward  glance?  And  what  flowers  of 
the  field  shall  trail  over  her  buried  glories  in  far  ages  to  come? 


PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS. 


Origin  and  History 

OF  ALL  THE 

Pharmacopeial  Vegetable  Drugs, 
Chemicals  and  Preparations 

WITH 

Bibliography 


VOLUME  I 

VEGETABLE  DRUGS 

8th  and  9th  Decennial  Revisions 

(Botanical  Descriptions  Omitted) 
BY 

JOHN  URI  LLOYD 


Prepared  under  the  Auspices  of  and  Published  by  the 

American  Drug  Manufacturers'  Association, 

Washington,  D.  C. 


CINCINNATI : 

THE  CAXTON  PRESS 


VOLUME  II 

(In  Process) 

CHEMICALS  AND  PREPARATIONS 

9th  Decennial  Revision 

BY 
SIGMUND  WALDBOTT,  PH.D. 

AND 

FRANCIS  F.  HEYROTH,  B.S..  M.A. 


COPYRIGHT.  1921,  BY 
AMERICAN  DRUG  MANUFACTURERS'  ASSOCIATION. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION* 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Standards 
and  Deteriorations,  American  Drug  Manufacturers' 
Association,  held  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria,  New  York, 
March  30,  1917,  it  was  decided  that  an  historical  in- 
vestigation of  the  drugs  and  preparations  official  in  the 
Pharmacopeia  of  the  United  States  was  an  important 
and  much-needed  work  that  could  be  properly  under- 
taken and  contributed  to  the  world  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Association.  It  was  deemed  essential  that  the 
publication  should  be  accompanied  by  bibliographical 
data  sufficient  to  enable  one  engaged  in  special  re- 
search to  obtain  first-hand  references  to  publications 
embracing  the  history  of  the  subjects  included.  An 
appropriation  adequate  to  cover  the  necessary  expense 
was  made  and  approved. 

The  Committee  to  undertake  this  work,  as  announced 
by  Mr.  Charles  J.  Lynn,  President  of  the  Association, 
consisted  of  the  following: 

Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  Chairman, 
Dr.  J.  M.  Francis, 
Dr.  John  Uri  Lloyd. 

Since  the  Lloyd  Library,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  carried 
the  documents  and  publications  essential  for  this  re- 
search, Dr.  Lloyd  was  requested  to  formulate  a  work- 
ing plan  in  accordance  with  which  the  work  might  be 

*  The  author  comprehends  that  the  members  of  the  American  Drug  Manufacturers' 
Association  are  fully  informed  of  the  facts  this  Introduction  includes.  However,  as  the 
publication  is  not  to  be  restricted  to  the  members  of  this  Association,  others  may  either 
now  or  at  a  period  more  or  less  remote  need  the  data  here  presented,  which  in  this  sense 
may  be  considered  as  an  historical  part  of  the  publication. — J.  U.  L. 


vi  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

accomplished.  He  personally  accepted  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  history  of  all  the  vegetable  drugs  of  the 
Pharmacopeia,  of  both  the  Eighth  and  Ninth  Decen- 
nial Revisions.  This  he  now  presents,  completed,  as 
a  personal  offering  to  the  Society.  As  one  fully  com- 
petent to  undertake  the  history  of  the  definite  Chem- 
icals and  Pharmaceutical  Compounds  of  the  Pharma- 
copeia, Dr.  Lloyd  suggested  the  name  of  Dr.  Sigmund 
Waldbott,  whose  exceptional  experiences  in  library  re- 
search, and  whose  knowledge  of  languages  and  science 
generally  are  so  well  known.  Dr.  Waldbott  agreed  to 
assume  this  responsibility,  and  selected  as  his  associate 
Professor  Francis  Farnham  Heyroth,  M.A.  The  out- 
line of  the  work  as  planned  by  them  was  presented  to 
the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  Dr.  Dohme,  and 
having  been  approved  by  him,  research  work  was  be- 
gun by  them  on  June  25,  1917. 


As  the  author  of  Volume  I  understands  the  subject, 
the  intent  is  to  locate,  with  reference  data,  not  only  the 
earliest  attainable  uses  made  of  each  Pharmacopeial 
drug,  but  important  historical  incidents  in  the  passing 
along.  Early  in  the  progress  of  the  work  it  became  evi- 
dent, from  the  abundance  of  material  to  be  considered, 
that  it  would  be  impracticable,  as  well  as  unnecessary, 
to  do  more  in  a  given  study  than  record  the  titles  of  a 
comparatively  few  of  the  many  publications  connected 
with  each  subject.  To  attempt  to  duplicate  references 
in  the  setting  of  each  drug,  as  recorded  in  the  various 
series  of  Dispensatories,  Pharmacopeias,  Materia  Med- 
icas  and  kindred  works  on  medicine  and  pharmacy, 
past  and  present,  as  well  as  the  innumerable  pamphlets, 
historical  notes,  Society  Proceedings  and  Treatises  that 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  vii 

might  well  be  consulted  for  special  purposes,  would 
make  of  the  Bibliography  alone  a  huge  volume.  As 
examples  are  cited  the  references  following  the  studies 
of  lobelia  and  cinchona. 

The  Association  under  whose  auspices  this  research 
has  been  accomplished  embraces  not  only  scientific 
and  professional  men,  but  others  who  have  interests 
both  in  applied  science,  in  serviceable  commerce 
and  in  varied  industries.  Hence  occasional  discussions 
of  some  length  concerning  problems  of  historical  value 
connected  intimately  with  a  drug's  vicissitudes  in  com- 
mercial channels  have  been  considered  not  out  of  pjace. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  many  drugs  extensively  em- 
ployed by  practicing  physicians  are  omitted  altogether 
from  the  work.  This  is  due,  not  to  the  author's  un- 
favorable opinion  as  regards  their  importance  or  service 
to  humanity,  but  to  the  fact  that  the  publication  is 
restricted  in  its  scope  to  the  drugs  of  the  Pharmacopeia 
of  the  United  States,  Eighth  and  Ninth  Decennial  Re- 
visions. 

Another  limitation  that  is  a  source  of  much  personal 
regret  is  that  the  work,  being  confined  to  the  history  of 
crude  drugs,  has  enforced  the  neglect  of  many  worthy 
special  non-official  preparations  derived  therefrom  that 
have  been  perfected  and  introduced  to  the  world  of 
medicine  by  members  of  our  Association,  as  well  as 
by  pharmacists,  chemists  and  physicians. 

The  author  takes  pleasure  in  stating  that  the  trans- 
lations from  Greek  and  Latin  authors  were  made  by 
his  secretary,  Miss  Margaret  Stewart,  A.M.,  who  also 
contributed  the  Pharmacopeial  record  (following  the 
title)  of  each  drug  named  in  Volume  I,  and  gave  to  the 
work  her  continued  care  as  research  progressed.  For 


viii  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

compiling  the  Index  accompanying  Volume  I,  and  for 
other  helpful  details,  credit  is  due,  and  thanks  ex- 
tended, to  Miss  Eda  Van  Guelpen,  of  the  author's  staff. 

The  foregoing  was  written  in  1918,  at  the  time  of  the 
completion  of  the  manuscript  of  Volume  I  (January  1, 
1918).  It  was  then  expected  that  publication  of  Vol- 
ume I  would  follow  at  once,  but  this  was  interrupted 
by  reason  of  disturbances  due  to  the  World  War. 

The  result  has  been  that  only  in  April,  1920,  was  it 
desirable  to  submit  to  the  Association,  at  its  annual 
meeting,  the  manuscript  of  Volume  I.  This  the  Asso- 
ciation promptly  accepted,  and  suggested  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  take  charge  of  its  publication. 
President  Wm.  A.  Sailer  named  as  such  committee  the 
following  members: 

Messrs.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  J.  M.  Francis,  John  Uri 
Lloyd,  Caswell  A.  Mayo  and  W.  J.  Woodruff,  with 
Professor  Lloyd  as  Chairman. 

This  committee  delegated  the  work  of  typography, 
binding,  etc.,  to  a  sub-committee  consisting  of — 

Messrs.  Mayo,  Lloyd  and  Woodruff,  with  Dr.  Mayo 
acting  as  Chairman. 

Mr.  Mayo  took  charge  of  the  publication,  and  the 
members  of  the  committee  read  the  galley  proofs. 

To  all  members  of  these  Committees,  as  well  as  to 
the  members  of  the  Association  generally,  who  without 
exception  have  not  only  made  no  complaint,  but  have 
cheerfully  given  all  assistance  possible  in  furnishing 
data  needful,  the  writer  desires  to  extend  his  earnest 
thanks. 

As  a  final  interruption  to  the  progress  of  the  work, 
on  the  very  day  when  came  to  the  author  the  galley 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  ix 

proof  of  Volume  I  (December  15,  1920),  came  also  to 
him  an  attack  of  pneumonia  of  the  most  pronounced 
type.  Realizing  that  to  ask  the  Committee  or  their 
Chairman  to  do  more  than  read  the  galley  proof  would 
be  an  imposition,  he  turned  to  his  life-long  friend,  Pro- 
fessor Harvey  Wickes  Felter,  M.D.,  whose  experience 
in  materia  medica  and  history  of  drugs  is  exceptional. 
Comprehending  the  situation,  Dr.  Felter  took  upon 
himself  what  would  have  been  the  author's  care  as 
concerns  the  many  final  details,  for  which  the  author 
is  very  grateful. 

Appreciating  fully  that  neither  Dr.  Felter  nor  the 
Committee  could  overcome  faults  due  to  misplaced 
judgment  or  errors  of  interpretation,  the  author  un- 
reservedly assumes  responsibility  for  the  publication's 
short-comings.  JOHN  URI  LLOYD. 

Cincinnati,  April  19,  1921. 


CONTENTS 


Historical  Introduction . .     v     Coca 84 

List  of  Illustrations xiii      Coccus 103 

Acacia 1  Colchici   Cormus   et   Se- 

Aconitum 3         men 104 

Aloe 4      Colocynthis 105 

Althsea 14      Conium 108 

Amygdala  Amara 15      Convallaria 109 

Amygdala  Dulcis 15      Copaiba 110 

Anisum 16      Coriandrum 117 

Anthemis 17      Croton  Tiglium 117 

Apocynum 17      Cubeba 121 

Arnica. 18      Cusso 123 

Asafetida 19      Cypripedium 124 

Aspidium 23      Digitalis 125 

Aspidosperma 24      Elaterium. 130 

Aurantii  Amari  et  Dulcis  Ergota 130 

Cortex 25      Eriodictyon 132 

Balsamum  Peruvianum . .  26      Eucalyptus 134 

Balsamum  Tolutanum. . .  27      Euonymus 135 

Belladonnse  Radix  et  Folia  28      Eupatorium 137 

Benzoinum 30      Ficus 138 

Berberis 31      Fccniculum 140 

Buchu 32      Frangula 140 

Calamus 33      Galla 141 

Calendula 34      Gambir 142 

Calumba 34      Gaultheria 144 

Cambogia 38      Gelsemium 150 

Camphora 39      Gentiana 152 

Cannabis  Indica 40     Geranium 153 

Cantharis 47      Glycyrrhiza 153 

Capsicum 48      Gossypii  Cortex 155 

Cardamomum 48      Granatum 156 

Carum.. 49      Grindelia 158 

Caryophyllus 51      Guaiacum 159 

Cassia  Fistula 52      Guarana 160 

Chimaphila 52      Hsematoxylpn 161 

Chirata 53  Hamamelidis    Cortex    et 

Chondrus 53         Folia 162 

Chrysarobinum 54      Hedcoma 162 

Cimicifuga 54      Humulus 163 

Cinchona 62      Hydrastis 164 

Cinnamoinum,  Cassia —  83      Hyoscyamub 166 


CONTENTS 


Ipecacuanha 168 

Jalapa 176 

Kino 177 

Krameria 178 

Lactucarium 179 

Lappa 179 

Leptandra. 180 

Limonis,  Cortex  et  Succus.  181 

Linum 183 

Lobelia 183 

Lycopodium 191 

Maltum 191 

Manna 192 

Marrubium 205 

Mastiche..... 205 

Matico 212 

Matricaria 213 

Mel 213 

Mentha  Piperita 215 

Mentha  Viridis 215 

Mezereum 216 

Moschus 217 

Myristica 218 

Myrrha 219 

Nux  Vomica 221 

Opium 224 

Pareira 235 

Pepo 236 

Physostigma 236 

Phytolacca 240 

Pilocarpus 243 

Pimenta 245 

Piper 246 

Podophyllum 248 

Prunum 257 

Prunus  Virginiana 257 

Pyrethrum 259 

259 

261 

ija 262 

Resina  Podophylli 250 

Rliamnus  Purshiana 263 

Rheuni 267 

RhusGlabra 271 

Rosa  Gallica. ...  ...  272 


RubusVUlosus 276 

Sabal 277 

Sabina 278 

Saccharum 278 

Sal  via 280 

Sanguinaria 282 

Santalum  Rubrum 285 

Santonica 287 

Sarsaparilla 288 

Sassafras 289 

Scammonium 297 

Scilla...* 298 

Scoparius 299 

Scopola 299 

Scutellaria 301 

Senega 317 

Senna 318 

Serpentaria 319 

Sinapis  Alba 319 

Sinapis  Nigra 320 

Spigelia 321 

Staphisagria 321 

Stillingia 322 

Stramonium 323 

Strophanthus 326 

Styrax 331 

Sumbul 332 

Tamarindus 332 

Taraxacum 334 

Terebinthina 335 

Thymol 336 

Tragacantha 337 

Triticum 338 

Uhnus 338 

UvaUrsi 339 

Valerian 339 

Vanilla 340 

Veratrum  Viride 350 

Viburnum  Opulus 352 

Viburnum  Prunifolium. . .  353 

Xanthoxylum 354 

Zea— Stigmata  Maydis. . .  355 

"  jiber 355 

Bibliography 357 

Index  to  Personal  Names.425 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


STAR  ANISE  TREES 16 

SASSAFRAS  DISTILLATION 16 

Presented  by  Fritsche  Brothers. 

ATROPA  BELLADONNA  CULTIVATION 28 

Presented  by  Eli  Lilly  and  Company. 

ATROPA  BELLADONNA  CULTIVATION 30 

Presented  by  Johnson  &  Johnson. 

CANNABIS  SATIVA  (AMERICAN  GROWN) 40 

Presented  by  The  Norwich  Pharmacal  Company. 

THE  COCA  COUNTRY,  COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA 84 

COCA  MARKET,  COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA 96 

COCA-USING  INDIANS  ON  CREST  OF  ANDES  MOUNTAINS, 

COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA 88 

TYPICAL  CONNECTICUT  BIRCH  OIL  DISTILLERY 148 

NEAR  NEW  LONDON,  CONNECTICUT 148 

Presented  by  The  William  S.  Merrett  Chemical 
Company. 

TURKS  DIGGING  LICORICE  IN  THE  VALLEY   OF  THE 

MEANDER.     (Old  Roman  Road  in  Background.).. .   152 

TURKS  EATING  LUNCH.     (Licorice  in  Background.) 152 

NIOBE  WEEPING  FOR  HER  CHILDREN 154 

This  heroic  figure  of  "The  Sorrowing  Mother," 
carved  on  the  mountain  top,  antedates  history.  It  over- 
looks the  valley  of  the  Meander,  noted  for  wild  licorice. 

VALLEY  OF  THE  MEANDER 154 

Historically  celebrated  from  all  time. 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 

HYDRASTIS  CANADENSIS 164 

Presented  by  H,  K.  Mulford  Company. 

PLOWBOY  IN  OPIUM  FIELD,  TURKEY 226 

TURKS  INSPECTING  OPIUM.    (Warehouse  of  A.  Keun  *c. 

Co.,  Smyrna,  Turkey.) 226 

RHAMNUS  PURSHIANA  (CASCARA  SAGRADA) 264 

Presented  by  Parke,  Davis  and  Company. 

TURKS  IN  ROSE  FIELD  NEAR  BRUSSA , 272 

ROSE  WATER  STILL,  NEAR  BRUSSA 272 

FRONT  VIEW,  ROSE  OIL  STILL,  NEAR  BRUSSA 272 

BACK  VIEW,  ROSE  OIL  STILL,  NEAR  BRUSSA 272 

OLIVE  ORCHARD  ON  ROAD  TO  BRUSSA,  NEAR  MOUNT 

OLYMPUS 300 

AGED  OLIVE  TREE  NEAR  MOUNT  OLYMPUS,  BRUSSA,  300 

MULBERRY  TREES  STRIPPED  FOR  SILK  WORMS 340 

MULBERRY  LEAVES  FOR  FEEDING  SILK  WORMS 340 

Near  Brussa,  on  the  foot  of  Mount  Olympus,  a  city 
of  silk  industry. 

COLLECTING  PERSIAN  INSECT  FLOWERS 352 

Presented  by  Allaire  Woodward  &  Company. 


PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 


ACACIA  (Gum  Arabic) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia,  from  the 
first  edition,  1820,  to  that  last  published,  1910.  The  1910  edition 
limits  the  use  of  the  gum  to  that  obtained  from  Acacia  Senegal, 
Willdenow,  and  other  African  species  of  acacia. 

From  the  most  remote  records  of  antiquity,  acacia 
has  been  an  article  of  commerce.  The  tree  was  pictured, 
together  with  heaps  of  the  gum,  in  the  reign  of  Rameses 
III,  of  Egypt.  Mention  of  the  gum  is  of  frequent  oc- 
currence in  Egyptian  inscriptions,  where  it  is  referred 
to  as  the  Gum  of  Canaan.  Theophrastus  (633),  in  the 
3d  and  4th  centuries  B.  C.,  described  it,  as  also  did 
Dioscorides  (194)  and  Pliny  (514),  under  the  name 
"Egyptian  Gum."  Acacia  was  exported  from  the  Gulf 
of  Aden,  seventeen  hundred  years  before  Christ.  It  has 
thus  been  employed  from  all  recorded  time  in  both  do- 
mestic medicine  and  commerce.  It  was  used  by  the 
Arabian  physicians,1  and  by  those  of  the  renowned 
schools  of  Salerno.  During  the  Middle  Ages,  acacia 
was  obtained  from  Egypt  and  Turkey,  being  an  article 
of  commerce  in  the  bazaars  of  Constantinople,  1340 
A.  D.  As  early  as  1521  A.  D.  it  was  distributed  through 
Europe,  from  Venice.  Among  the  most  interesting  and 

'  "On  the  morning  of  our  separation  it  was  as  if  I  stood  in  the  gardens  of  our  tribe, 
Amid  the  acacia  shrubs  where  my  eyes  were  blinded  with  tears  by  the  smart  from 
the  bursting  pods  of  colocynlh."   From  the  oldest  of  "  THE  HANGED  POEMS." 
The  "Seven  Hanged  Poems"  were  so  named  from  the  fact  that  these  seven  poems, 
and  these  only,  were  considered  worthy  of  "hanging"  on  the  walls  of  the  "  Sacred  Temple  of 
Mecca."    They  were  heirlooms  of  Arabian  poetry,  when  at  its  highest.    The  date  at  which 
the  poem  was  composed  from  which  the  above  couplet  is  taken,  is  unknown.    From  The 
Sacred  Books  and  Early  Literature  of  the  East,  edited  by  Prof.  Charles  F.  Home, 
Ph.D.,  we  take  the  following  tribute:  "It  was  unanimously  agreed  to  immortalize  their  fame 
by  conferring  on  them  the  highest  honor  the  followers  of  Mohammed  could  bestow,  that  of 
hanging  them  inside  the  Kaaba,  the  most  sacred  shrine  of  their  worship,  as  a  memorial  to 
posterity."  Note  the  linking  together  of  the  tears  (gum)  of  the  acacia  and  the  acrid  juice 
of  the  colocynth. 

1 


2  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

instructive  recent  contributions  to  acacia  literature,  is 
the  Report  of  the  Wellcome  Research  Laboratory, 
Khartoum,  (678),  1904.  Even  this,  however,  is  excelled 
in  the  magnificently  illustrated  "Third  Report"  from 
that  institution,  presented  in  1908,  in  which  we  find  a 
fund  of  information  that  forbids  even  summarizing. 
Pages  414  to  450  present,  exhaustively,  the  subject  of 
gums,  whose  origin,  as  might  be  anticipated,  is  found 
due  to  bacterial  infection.  The  reports  are  not  alto- 
gether concordant,  trees  artificially  inoculated  even 
falling  below  the  yield  by  native  processes,  as  shown 
by  the  following  extract: 

"INOCULATION. — In  view  of  the  results  of  Greig 
Smith's  investigations,  which  appear  to  prove  that 
gum  is  formed  as  the  result  of  infection  of  the  sap 
by  a  microbe  resident  presumably  in  the  bark,  and 
also  that  extensive  removal  of  the  bark  is  un- 
desirable, an  experiment  was  carried  out  as  follows: 
Tapping  was  performed  by  making  a  series  of  gashes 
with  an  axe,  no  bark  being  stripped  off,  and  (as  the 
chances  of  efficient  natural  inoculation  might  thus  be 
lessened),  an  attempt  was  made  to  ensure  the  entrance 
of  the  microbe  by  rubbing  a  moist  rag  over  the  bark 
and  subsequently  into  the  cut.  A  series  of  trees  tapped 
in  the  native  fashion  (by  stripping  the  bark)  was  treated 
in  the  same  manner  for  comparison.  The  following 
table  exhibits  the  results  obtained : 

Number  of  Yield  of 

Garden  of      trees  oper-      Size  of        Method  of  Inoculated  gum  per 

atedupon       trees  tapping  tree 

AdamAfifi      25      Medium  Ordinary  Not  inoculated  0.9  rotl. 
25  "          Inoculated         0.55    " 

25  "         Short 

Gashes  Not  inoculated  0.28   " 
25  "         "        "       Inoculated         0.14   " 


ACONITUM  3 

"This  quite  unlocked  for  result  is  not  without  signifi- 
cance of  practical  value.  It  goes  to  show  that  the  yield 
of  gum  is  affected  to  a  very  great  extent  by  conditions 
other  than  the  mere  stripping  of  the  bark.  The  ex- 
planation of  the  lower  yield  may  be  that  inoculation 
takes  place  ordinarily  by  the  microbes  falling  upon  the 
sap  which  exudes  in  slight  quantity  when  the  bark  is 
stripped  off,  and  that  when  the  water  was  rubbed  over 
the  bark  and  then  into  the  cut  the  effect  was  rather  to 
wash  away  this  sap  and  render  inoculation  less  complex 
and  effective."  Third  Report  of  the  Wellcome  Research 
Laboratories  at  the  Gordon  Memorial  College,  Khartoum, 
1908.1 

ACONITUM  (Aconite) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.  from  1820  to  1910. 

Aconite,  Aconitum  Napellus,  was  familiar  to  the 
ancients  as  a  poisonous  plant.  It  was  used  by  the 
ancient  Chinese  as  well  as  by  the  hill  tribes  of  India. 
In  a  work  published  by  the  Welsh  MSS.  Society,  1861, 
titled,  The  Physicians  of  Myddvai,2  it  is  designated  as 
"a  plant  that  every  physician  should  grow."  Aconite 
is  native  to  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees,  as  well  as  to  the 
mountains  and  highlands  of  Germany,  Austria,  Den- 
mark and  Sweden.  The  whole  of  Siberia,  and  the 
Himalaya  Mountains,  to  the  altitude  of  16,000  feet, 
are  said  to  harbor  the  plant.  Waring  (669)  states  that 
it  is  found  in  Northern  India,  and  Dymock  (208)  gives 

'  It  should  be  stated  that  Greig  Smith  (Proc.  Linn.  Soc.  of  N.  S.  W.,  1902,  Part 
III,  Sept.  24th),  is  the  original  investigator  of  the  bacterial  origin  of  acacia,  and  has  published 
several  papers  on  the  subject.  These  should  be  studied  in  connection  with  the  Wellcome 
Report. 

»  PHYSICIANS  OF  MYDDVAI.  The  domestic  physician  of  Rhys  Gryg,  prince  of  South  Wales 
who  died  1233,  made  a  collection  of  recipes  used  in  medicine  at  that  date  in  his  country.  He 
was  assisted  by  his  three  sons,  the  collection  being  a  valuable  historical  record  cono 
remedial  agents  and  methods  of  that  date.  Of  this  work,  two  compilations  have  been  i 
the  two  appearing  together,  1861 ,  with  a  translation  by  John  Pughe  (470  pp.).  " 
manuscript  is  in  the  British  Museum.  (See  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury's 
W*  761). 
2 


4  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  various  names  applied  to  the  drug,  stating  that  "it 
is  important  in  Sanskrit,"  and  that  of  the  eighteen 
varieties  of  aconite  mentioned  by  Hindu  writers,  ten 
were  considered  too  poisonous  to  be  used  in  medicine. 
Indeed,  under  the  Sanskrit  term  Visha,  and  its  equiva- 
lent Bish  and  Bikh,  of  modern  Indian  languages,  aconite 
was  accepted  as  "the  most  virulent  poison  known." 
Everywhere  it  is  known  to  the  common  people  as  a 
poison.  Storck,  of  Vienna,  (617),  introduced  the  drug 
to  the  medical  profession  in  1763,  and  from  that  date 
it  crept  into  European  dispensatories,  and  from  thence 
into  general  practice.  Aconite,  in  small  doses,  is  a 
great  favorite  with  American  physicians. 

ALOE  (Aloes) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  1820-1910.  As 
official  sources  of  aloe,  the  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  names  Aloe  Perryi, 
(Socotrine  aloes),  Aloe  vera,  (Curasao  aloes),  and  Aloe  ferox, 
(Cape  aloes). 

The  name  aloe  embraces  a  large  number  of  succulent- 
leaved  plants  native  to  tropical  countries.  Most  of 
these  have  showy  flowers,  and  many  are  cultivated  in 
hot-houses.  The  official  variety,  Aloe  socotrina,  "grows 
in  the  Indies,  and  especially  in  the  island  of  Socotra." 
(Lam.) 

The  early  history  of  the  aloe  plant  is  much  obscured 
by  the  fact  that  the  name  aloe,  for  example  as  it  occurs 
in  the  Bible,  relates  to  a  substance  entirely  different 
from  the  inspissated  juices  of  the  various  species  of  the 
modern  aloe  plant,  with  which  it  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon, except  its  bitterness.  The  aloe  of  the  Bible  is  the 
wood  of  Aquillaria  agallocha  (Roxburgh),  or  lignaloes, 
which  was  used  among  ancient  nations  as  an  incense, 
and  highly  prized  on  account  of  its  scarcity.  References 


ALOE  5 

to  this  substance  thread  the  Arabian  Nights,  (Burton's 
Translation).  The  following  excerpts  from  that  well- 
known  publication  show  conclusively  that  "aloes"  of 
the  present  day  could  not  have  been  the  "Ligna  Aloes" 
of  past  Oriental  lore: 

"Furthermore,  they  decorated  the  cities  after  the 
goodliest  fashion  and  diffused  scents  from  censors  and 
burnt  aloes-wood  and  other  perfumes  in  all  the  markets." 
Vol.  X:  p.  56. 

"Then  the  barber  made  him  sit  on  the  dais  and  the 
boys  proceeded  to  shampoo  him,  whilst  the  censers 
fumed  with  the  finest  lign-aloes."  Vol.  IX:  p.  150. 

That  the  substance  named  could  not  have  been  a 
mixture,  is  illustrated  by  the  following: 

"So  I  bade  them  set  before  him  a  box  containing 
Nadd  [a  mixture,  Burton]  the  best  of  compound  per- 
fumes, together  with  fine  lign-aloes,  ambergris  and  musk 
unmixed." 

By  modern  writers,  the  aloe  plant  is  considered  to 
have  grown  wild  in  India  from  a  very  remote  period. 
It  was  probably  introduced  into  that  country  by  the 
Arabs,  the  disseminators  of  knowledge  concerning  the 
medicinal  virtues  of  plants.  Aloes  was  employed  by 
Galen  (254  a),  and  was  described  by  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers  of  the  first  century,  chief  among  whom 
were  Dioscorides  (194)  and  Pliny  (514),  whose  de- 
scriptions of  this  drug  and  its  uses,  however,  bear  much 
resemblance  to  each  other. 

Socotrine  aloes  appears  to  have  acquired  its  reputa- 
tion at  an  early  date.  Clusius  (153),  in  1593,  reports 
that  Mesue,  the  Arabian  pharmaceutical  writer,  "the 
father  of  Pharmacopoeias, "  (who  died  about  1028 
A.  D.),  knew  of  the  Socotrine  origin  of  aloes,  mentioning 


6  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

Persia,  Armenia  and  Arabia  as  sources  of  aloes  of  com- 
merce. Ibn  el  Beithar  (214)  speaks  of  aloes  from  the 
island  of  Socotra  as  being  superior  to  that  of  the 
Arabian  districts  of  Yemen. 

The  name  Aloe  socotrina  was  undoubtedly  derived 
from  the  island  of  Socotra,  off  the  entrance  to  the  Red 
Sea.  Yet,  some  authors  maintain  that  the  name  was 
by  some  given  to  the  inspissated  juice  of  aloe  (succus 
citrinus),  on  account  of  the  lemon-yellow  color  of  its 
powder.1  Not  all  the  earlier  medico-pharmaceutical 
writers  who  afterwards  considered  the  drug  refer  to 
socotrine,  or  any  other  special  kind  of  aloes.  Hierony- 
'  mus  Bock  (82),  1556,  merely  alludes  to  the  drug  being 
brought  from  India  and  Arabia,  a  statement  already 
found  in  Dioscorides.  He  relates  an  instance  where 
the  aloe  plant  is  cultivated  in  Germany  as  an  indoor 
ornamental  plant,  under  the  name  sempervivum. 

Samuel  Purchas  (527),  however,  in  his  important 
collection  of  travels,  1625,  gives  prominence  to  Soco- 
trine aloes,  and  places  on  record  the  commercial  trans- 
actions of  British  merchants  with  the  king  of  Socotra. 
One  of  his  contributors,  (William  Finch,  merchant), 
gives  the  following  interesting  information,  which  he 
gathered  about  1607  A.  D.,  concerning  the  preparation 
of  aloes  in  the  island  of  Socotra: 

"I  could  learne  of  no  merchandise  the  iland  yeeldeth, 
but  Aloes,  Sanguis  Draconis,  and  Dates  and,  as  they 
say  on  the  shore  of  Aba  del  Curia,  Blacke  Ambergreese. 
Of  Aloes  I  suppose  they  could  make  yearly  more  than 
Christendome  can  spend,  the  herbe  growing  in  great 
abundance,  being  no  other  than  Semper  vivum,  in  all 

'  Usage  accepts  that  Aloe  succotrina  is  the  plant  described  by  Lamarck,  and  that 
aloe  iocotnna  is  the  commercial  extract  derived  from  crru.in  gteciee  of  aloes.  Exceptions 
in  the  spelung  of  the  latter  word  have  occurred  ia  older  Pharmacopeias. 


ALOE  7 

things  agreeing  to  that  description  of  Dioscorides  in 
seed,  stalke,  etc.  It  is  yet  all  of  a  red  pricklie  sort,  and 
much  chamfered  1  in  the  leaves,  so  full  of  a  resin-iuyce 
that  it  is  ready  to  breake  with  it.  The  chief e  time  to 
make  it,  is  when  the  winds  blowe  northerly,  that  is, 
about  September,  and  that  after  the  fall  of  some  raine, 
which  being  then  gathered,  they  cut  in  small  pieces, 
and  cast  into  a  pit  made  in  the  ground,  well  cleansed 
from  filth  and  paved;  there  it  lieth  to  ferment  in  the 
heat  of  the  sunne,  whereby  it  floweth  forth.  Thence 
they  take  and  put  it  in  skinnes,  which  they  hang  up  in 
the  wind  to  dry,  where  it  becommeth  hard.  They  sold 
us  for  20  Rials  a  Quintall  which  is  103  pounds  English, 
but  we  were  after  told  that  they  sold  to  others  for  12, 
which  considering  the  abundance  and  easie  making, 
may  be  credible." 

Elsewhere  the  statement  is  made  that  "the  Aloe  of 
Socotra  exceedeth  in  goodnesse  that  which  is  gathered 
in  Hadhramut  of  the  land  of  Jaman,  Arabia,  or  any- 
where else." 

From  the  same  authority  we  learn  that  1800  pounds 
of  Socotrine  aloes  were  bought  at  one  time,  and  2722 
pounds  at  another. 

The  ancient  trade  of  the  island  has  never  increased, 
and  in  1833,  we  are  informed,  only  two  tons  were  ex- 
ported. At  present  the  manufacture  and  export  seem 
to  have  ceased  altogether,  due  no  doubt  to  unfavorable 
local  conditions,  as  well  as  to  the  intrusive  competition 
of  other  countries.  In  the  16th  century,  or  perhaps 
before,  the  aloe  plant  was  introduced  into  the  West 
Indies,  Lignon,  (383)  1763,  dwelling  especially  on  its 
having  occurred  in  Barbados  as  early  as  1647-1650, 

.1  Grooved. 


g  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

which  is  only  about  twenty  years  after  the  English 
came  into  possession  of  this  island  (365).  From  this 
point  aloes  soon  became  an  article  of  export,  appearing 
in  the  London  market  in  1693  (239).  In  this  con- 
nection, however,  it  is  strange  that  J.  B.  Labat  (365), 
a  French  monk  and  careful  observer  of  nature,  who 
visited  the  island  of  Barbados  in  1700,  fails  to  mention 
Barbadoes  aloes  among  its  staples  (365).  He  says: 

"Formerly  much  tobacco  was  planted,  and  sub- 
sequently ginger  and  indigo;  cotton  is  now  grown  up  in 
some  parts  of  the  island,  but  sugar  is  at  present  the 
only  article  to  which  attention  is  devoted." 

That  this  omission  of  aloes  by  Labat  could  not  be 
from  ignorance,  is  shown  by  his  careful  reference  to 
aloes  when,  twenty-eight  years  afterwards,  1728,  he 
refreshingly  described  the  resources  and  people  of 
Senegambia  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  (365),  and 
strongly  advocates  the  use  of  aloes  that  might  be  made 
from  aloe  plants  grown  in  abundance  in  that  district, 
in  place  of  aloes  from  the  island  of  Socotra  which,  hi 
his  opinion,  possessed  an  imaginary  superiority,  only 
"because  it  comes  from  afar,  and  costs  much."  The 
three  commercial  forms  of  the  drug  then  known, 
Socotrine,  hepatic  and  caballine  aloes,  Labat  ascribes  to 
one  and  the  ^ame"  origin,  the  differences  resulting  only 
from  the  mode  of  preparation,  caballine  "or  horse 
aloes,  the  lowest  grade,  being  made  from  refuse  ma- 
terial." 

In  all  this,  Barbadoes  aloes  is  not  mentioned  by 
Labat.  Whether  this  neglect  is  due  to  interruption  of 
cultivation,  or  to  some  other  cause  difficult  to  deter- 
mine, may  never  be  settled.  It  is  established,  however, 
that  Barbadoes  aloes  was  exported  from  the  island 


ALOE  9 

both  before,  and  soon  after  these  reports.  Samuel  Dale, 
in  1751,  expressly  states  (179)  that  aloes  is  brought  to 
England  in  large  gourds  from  the  island  of  Barbados, 
and  that  the  inspissated  juice  has  the  properties  of  Aloe 
socotrina. 

From  Cape  Colony,  Africa,  where  aloes  was  made  by 
Peter  Van  Wett,  (239),  aloes  has  been  an  article  of 
export  since  1773. 

Curasao  aloes  was  known  in  the  Dutch  market  in 
1847,  and  appeared  in  the  English  market  for  the  first 
time,  as  late  as  about  1876.  The  following,  by  the 
author  of  this  research,  was  published  in  The  Western 
Druggist,  Chicago,  in  1898: 

Cultivation,  Preparation  and  Commercial  Varieties 

"The  aloe  plant,  wherever  it  is  cultivated,  requires 
but  little  care.  It  will  thrive  hi  almost  any  soil,  and  in 
a  wild  state  is  known  to  be  abundant  on  arid  plains, 
as  e.  g.  hi  the  interior  of  Cape  Colony.  In  this  con- 
nection, Mr.  P.  L.  Simmonds'  (599)  book  on  Economic 
Products  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom,  although  written 
in  1854,  contains  much  valuable  information  that  holds 
good  today,  concerning  the  cultivation  and  preparation 
of  aloes,  as  well  as  statistics  regarding  all  kinds  of  aloes 
known  at  that  date. 

"The  usual  mode  of  aloe  propagation  is  by  sprouts, 
the  only  care  required  being  to  keep  down  the  weeds. 
In  Barbados,  Mr.  Simmonds  relates,  great  care  is  taken 
to  pick  the  stones  from  the  ground,  the  plants  being 
then  set  in  rows  one  foot  apart  to  facilitate  the  removal 
of  weeds.  The  aloe  is  planted  usually  between  April 
and  June,  and  is  so  hardy  that  it  will  live  for  many 
weeks  without  a  drop  of  rain.  The  collection  is  made 


10  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

in  March,  following.  The  plants  thrive  for  ten  to 
twelve  years  if  good  manure  is  used  every  three  or  four 
years.  Similarly  the  aloe  plant  (Aloe  vulgaris,  var. 
chinensis),  is  now  cultivated  in  the  Dutch  island  of 
Curasao.  No  fertilizer  whatever  is  required,  nor  any 
preparation  of  the  soil.  The  young  plants  thrive  even 
though  the  roots  have  to  work  their  way  between 
stones.  When  sufficient  rain  falls,  abundant  juice  is 
produced,  and  many  young  sprouts  are  formed  around 
the  mother  plant.  They  are  sold  by  the  thousand  on 
the  Curagao  market. 

"Mr.  Simmonds  in  the  same  work  described  the  mode 
of  preparation  of  aloes,  as  observed  by  him  in  the  West 
Indian  Islands  and  also  as  it  is  conducted  in  Cape 
Colony. 

"A  more  recent  report  on  the  collection  and  treatment 
of  the  aloe  in  the  island  of  Curasao,  by  Mr.  E.  M. 
Holmes,  (322),  in  the  Pharm.  Jour.  Trans.,  Vol.  XX, 
1889-1890,  p.  561,  and  Vol.  XXI,  1890-1891,  p.  205, 
gives  the  following  details: 

'  'The  aloe  plants  are  cut  after  sufficient  rain  has  fallen, 
the  time  being  selected  so  as  to  obtain  a  juice  that  is 
neither  too  watery,  as  is  the  case  after  much  rain,  nor 
too  thick,  as  is  the  result  in  the  dry  season.  In  Aruba 
the  cutting  is  done  by  men,  in  Curasao  and  Bonaire  by 
women.  The  operator  seizes  the  crown  of  the  leaves 
with  one  hand,  and  by  one  horizontal  stroke  with  a 
broad  knife,  severs  them  from  the  base  of  the  stem. 
The  leaves  are  at  once  placed,  base  downward,  in  slop- 
ing wooden  troughs,  which  are  open  at  one  end.  The 
exuding  juice  is  collected  in  tin  vessels  which  when 
filled  are  emptied  into  barrels.  The  abstracted  leaves 
are  then  spread  on  the  ground,  and  when  dry  are  oc- 


ALOE  11 

casionally  used  as  fodder  for  animals,  but  more  often 
as  a  fertilizer.  When  the  aloe  field  has  its  own  brick 
furnace,  the  juice  is  at  once  boiled  down  in  a  large 
copper  kettle  heated  by  direct  fire.  The  mass  is  stirred 
constantly,  and  when  it  has  reached  a  certain  consist- 
ence, is  ladled  into  wooden  casks  where  it  is  allowed 
to  cool,  and  then  the  mass  is  prepared  for  shipment. 
When  there  is  no  furnace  in  the  field,  however,  the  bar- 
rels of  juice  are  hauled  to  special  'boiling  houses,' 
where  the  boiling  is  conducted  after  a  sufficient  number 
of  barrels  have  arrived.  If  the  amount  of  juice  is  not 
sufficient  to  warrant  boiling,  the  aloe  juice  is  sometimes 
left  for  weeks,  and  as  a  result  fermentation  has  been 
known  to  take  place,  certainly  to  the  detriment  of  the 
commercial  product,  although  it  has  been  asserted  that 
aloe  juice  is  not  liable  to  ferment. 

"In  Aruba  there  is  only  one  boiling  house  that  evap- 
orates the  juice  by  steam  instead  of  by  direct  fire,  where, 
as  Mr.  C.  G.  Lloyd  learned  on  his  journey  through  the 
West  Indies,  the  vacuum  pan  is  now  employed.  This 
place  seems  increasingly  to  supply  the  bulk  of  the  Cura- 
C.ao  aloes,  as  the  following  table  of  exports  from  the 
Dutch  West  Indies  from  1884  to  1887  would  show: 

1884  1885  1886  1887 

Curasao        2,080  500         kilograms 

Bonaire        19,083  5,821  18,640  2,075 

Aruba          98,960  123,115  158,011  189,925 

"It  has  been  customary  in  trade  circles  to  distinguish 
by  name  Socotrine,  Barbadoes,  Curasao,  and  Cape  aloes, 
as  well  as  certain  commercial  forms  of  minor  impor- 
tance, such  as  Natal,  Indian  and  Mocha  aloes. 

"The  term  hepatic  aloes  has  been  employed  to  classify 


12  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

any  aloes  of  a  liver-color,  regardless  of  its  geographical 
origin. 

"Professor  Tschirch  (653)  distinguishes  between  the 
crystalline  aloes  (aloe  hepatica),  prepared  at  lower 
temperatures,  and  the  transparent  variety  (aloe  lucida), 
prepared  at  a  higher  heat,  which  more  or  less  precludes 
crystallization,  as  shown  in  Cape  aloes.  The  botanic 
origin  of  these  commercial  products,  however,  is  not 
always  precisely  known,  e.  g.,  the  exact  plant  used  in 
making  Natal  aloes  or  Socotrine  aloes.  Yet,  even  if 
they  are  produced  by  different  varieties  of  the  aloe 
plant,  their  marked  differences  in  appearance,  odor  and 
composition  can  hardly  be  attributable  to  this  factor 
alone.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  manner  of  collection 
and  the  care  bestowed  upon  the  juice,  as  well  as  its 
subsequent  manipulation,  influences  the  character  of 
the  commercial  product,  regardless  of  the  aloe  plant 
yielding  it.  Dr.  Squibb  (610a),  for  example,  who 
champions  purified  aloes,  admits  that  so  simple  a 
process  as  that  of  purification  of  the  commercial  drug 
alters  it  to  some  extent.1 

"Commercial  Socotrine  aloes  is  now  collected  from 
the  coast  countries  of  the  Red  Sea  and  Zanzibar,  and 
occurs  sometimes  in  a  semiliquid  state,  which  is  due  to 
imperfect  inspissation.  It  is  exported  from  Bombay 
and  Zanzibar,  the  bulk  of  the  product  being  consumed 
in  the  United  States.  That  shipped  from  Bombay  is 
previously  received  via  Zanzibar  and  the  Red  Sea 
ports,  and  arrives  in  skins  of  varying  sizes,  which  are 
opened  and  repacked  into  boxes  for  exportation. 

1  This,  according  to  our  experience,  applies  to  many  drugs  and  plant  extractives.  A 
plant  crudity  may  be  "purified  to  death.  Interlocked  structures  that  lean  upon  each 
other  as  a  whole,  or  are  entwined  physically  so  as  to  present  a  united  influence,  when 
shattered  by  heroic  chemistry,  may  not,  in  any  educt  or  product,  parallel  the  parent 
structure. 


ALOE  13 

"The  Socotrine  aloes  of  ancient  times  is  not  now  found 
in  trade,  and  according  to  Squire,  (Companion  to  the 
British  Pharm.,  16th  ed.,  London,  1894),  exists  only  as 
museum  specimens.  It  was  derived  from  a  species  of 
aloe  indigenous  to  Socotra,  rediscovered  in  1878,  and 
named  Aloe  Perryi  by  Baker,  after  Commodore  Wick- 
ham  Perry,  (not  the  Commodore  Perry  of  Lake  Erie 
fame),  who  for  the  purpose  of  identification  carried  a 
specimen  of  the  plant  from  the  Island  of  Socotra  to 
England. 

"The  description  of  commercial  Socotrine  aloes  may 
be  found  in  any  modern  work  on  pharmacognosy;  also 
see  in  this  connection  the  article  by  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme 
in  the  Druggists'  Circular,  1897.  The  Zanzibar  (hepatic) 
variety  is  brought  to  us  in  monkey  skins  of  a  capacity 
varying  from  20  to  30  or  40  pounds.  A  writer  in  the 
London  Chemist  and  Druggist  says  on  this  point,  that 
this  peculiar  mode  of  wrapping  the  parcels  suggested 
itself  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  these  animals  in 
Zanzibar,  and  the  ease  with  which  they  can  be  killed. 

"Barbadoes  aloes  is  no  longer  manufactured  in  Bar- 
bados, (Ckem.  and  Druggist,  1897,  Vol.  51,  p.  465),  its 
place  in  trade  being  taken  mainly  by  Curasao  aloes. 

"Curasao  aloes  has  suffered  a  gradual  decline  in  price, 
falling  from  11  cents  a  pound  in  1883  to  3  cents  and  less 
even  at  present,  (1898),  owing  to  excessive  shipments 
made  during  this  interval;  but,  as  Dr.  Dohme  has 
shown  (Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,  Aug.,  1898,  p.  398), 
that  this  species  is  rich  in  aloin  (18.5  per  cent.,  against 
7.5  per  cent,  of  Socotrine  and  4.5  per  cent,  of  cape 
aloes),  Curasao  aloes  may  have  a  future,  notwithstand- 
ing the  disagreeable  odor  which  it  possesses,  provided 
aloin  is  demonstrated  to  be  the  only  active  principle  of 


14  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  various  aloes  of  commerce.  In  contrast  with  the 
present  unpleasant  odor  of  this  form  of  aloes,  A.  Faber, 
in  1847,  stated  that  Curasao  aloes  (of  the  Dutch  mar- 
ket) has  a  'beautiful  saffron-like  odor.'  (Pharm. 
Jour.  Trans.,  Vol.  VII,  1847,  48,  p.  547). 

"Cape  aloes  is  distinguished  from  all  others  by  its 
appearance  and  by  being  translucent  at  the  edges;  it 
yields  a  brown-yellow  powder.  This  is  the  favorite 
aloes  in  Germany,  and  is  the  variety  most  soluble  in 
water  and  alcohol.  Messrs.  Bainbridge  and  Morrow 
have  found  a  specific  test  for  this  aloes  as  follows: 
When  treated  with  nitric  acid,  on  a  white  plate,  cape 
aloes,  like  others,  (except  Socotrine  aloes),  yields  a  red 
color;  but  after  five  minutes'  standing,  cape  aloes 
changes  to  a  rather  permanent  green." 

ALTHJEA  (Althaea,  Marsh  Mallow  Root) 

Althaea  Root.  Introduced  in  Pharm.  1830,  (New  York  ed). 
Continued  through  1910. 

Althaea  Flowers.  Introduced  in  1830,  (New  York  ed.).  Not 
mentioned  in  1840.  Official  in  Pharm.  1850,  both  editions.  Not 
mentioned  thereafter. 

Althcea  officinalis,  known  to  us  as  marshmallow,  was 
described  by  Dioscorides  (194)  under  the  Greek  name 
signifying  to  heal.  It  has  been  used  in  domestic  medi- 
cine from  the  earliest  periods.  Charlemagne,  742-814 
A.  D.,  demanded  that  it  be  cultivated  in  his  domain. 
Althaea  grows  throughout  Europe,  Asia  Minor,  western 
and  northern  Asia  and  adjacent  districts,  and  although 
of  little  consequence  in  physicians'  use  is  more  or  less 
employed  in  domestic  medication  in  all  localities.  Its 
domestic  use  introduced  this  demulcent  drug  to  early 
professional  medication. 


AMYGDALA  DULCIS  15 

AMYGDALA  AMARA  (Bitter  Almond) 

Amygdalus  communis  official  from  1820.  Variety  amara 
first  recognized  in  1840.  Continued  thereafter  till  1900.  Dropped 
from  Pharmacopeia  of  1910. 

The  seeds  of  bitter  almonds,  Prunus  Amygdalus, 
var.  amara,  known  in  the  days  of  antiquity  to  be  poi- 
sonous, were  yet  used  medicinally  throughout  the  Middle 
Ages.  Valerius  Cordus  (169)  employed  them  as  an 
ingredient  of  trochisci.  They  are  referred  to  by  Scri- 
bonius  Largus  (589)  in  the  century  preceding  Christ. 
Their  poisonous  qualities  were  shown  by  Bohm  of 
Berlin  to  depend  on  hydrocyanic  acid,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century.  Bitter  almonds  have  never  been  a 
favorite  in  domestic  medicine,  although,  as  above 
stated,  they  were  originally  used  in  that  direction., 
They  have  been  scarcely  more  a  favorite  with  licensed 
physicians. 

AMYGDALA  DULCIS  (Sweet  Almond) 

Official,  as  Amygdalus  communis,  in  the  first  edition  of  the 
U.  S.  Pharmacopeia,  1820.  The  variety  dulcis  was  first  recog- 
nized in  the  New  York  edition  of  1830,  but  was  not  named  in 
the  Philadelphia  edition  of  that  year.  Following  1830,  both 
sweet  and  bitter  almonds  were  official  in  all  editions  until  1910, 
when  Amygdala  Dulcis  became  alone  official,  excepting  in  such 
preparations  as  the  oil,  spirit,  or  water  of  bitter  almonds. 

The  almond,  Prunus  Amygdalus  dulcis,  was  one 
of  the  trees  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  being 
one  of  the  fruits  mentioned,  Genesis  43:11,  which  the 
patriarch  Israel  commanded  his  sons  to  carry  from  Pales- 
tine as  a  present  to  Egypt.  Theophrastus  (633)  makes 
copious  references  to  the  almond,  and  its  name  threads 
the  stories  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  as  illustrated  by  the 
following : 

"O  dear  son,  .be  not  like  the  almond-tree  which 
leafeth  earlier  than  eveiy  growth  and  withal  is  ever  of 


16  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  latest  to  fruit;  but  strive  to  resemble  the  mulberry- 
tree  which  beareth  food  the  first  of  all  growths  and  is 
the  last  to  put  forth  foliage."  l  Burton's  Translation, 
Vol.  XVII:  p.  7. 

"He  heard  a  sound  of  singing,  the  like  whereof  he  had 
never  heard  in  the  world,  for  that  it  was  soft  as  the 
breeze  and  more  strengthening  than  Oil  of  Almonds." 
Vol.  XI:  pp.  74-5. 

In  connection  with  spices  and  groceries,  the  almond 
was  mentioned  in  a  charter  granted  the  monastery  of 
Corbis,  hi  Normandy,  by  Chilperic  II,  king  of  France, 
539-584  A.  D.  Charlemagne,  812  A.  D.,  wisely  ordered 
the  almond  tree  introduced  on  the  imperial  farms.  The 
almond  became  an  important  item  of  Venetian  trade 
in  the  14th  century.  In  1411,  the  Knight  Templars  of 
Cyprus  (Fliickiger)  taxed  almonds,  honey  and  sesame 
seed.  Medieval  cookery  consumed  almonds  in  enor- 
mous quantities.  As  a  nourishing  food  in  the  form  of 
an  emulsion,  almonds  crept  into  domestic  medicine, 
and  thence  into  professional  use. 

ANISUM  (Anise,  Aniseed) 

Official  in  all  Pharmacopeias  from  1820  to  1910,  excepting 
the  New  York  edition  of  1830,  which  omits  the  drug,  but  names 
theotf. 

This  drug,  Pimpinella  Anisum,  is  among  the  oldest 
known  medicines  and  spices.  Theophrastus  (633)  and 
later  writers,  such  as  Dioscorides  (194),  Pliny  (514) 
and  Edrisi  (221),  mention  it.  Charlemagne  com- 
manded that  it  be  cultivated  on  the  imperial  farms  in 
Germany.  Its  ancient  source  was  Egypt  and  the  island 
of  Crete.  It  was  one  of  the  drugs  enumerated  by  Ed- 
ward I,  1305,  to  be  taxed  when  carried  across  the 

'  Every  work  consulted  exemplifies  the  close  observation  of  Nature  by  the  Orientals, 
past  and  present. 


Upper.    STAR  ANISE  TREES  (Page  16) 

Lower.    SASSAFRAS  DISTILLATION  (Page  289) 

Presented  by  Fritsche  Brothers. 


APOCYNUM  17 

Bridge  of  London.  Anise  is  mentioned  in  the  expenses 
of  King  John  of  France,  1319-1364,  during  his  abode 
in  England.  The  Grocers'  Company  of  London  had 
its  oversight,  1453.  The  Royal  Wardrobe  of  Edward 
IV,  1480,  was  perfumed  thereby.  It  was  used  in  Eng- 
land as  a  pot  herb  prior  to  1542,  and  during  the  reign 
of  Charlemagne  it  was  enormously  taxed.  Through- 
out all  this  period  anise  was  employed  both  as  a  spice 
and  as  a  domestic  medicine. 

ANTHEMIS  (Anthemis,  Chamomile) 
Official  from  1820  to  1900.    Dropped  from  Pharmacopeia  of 
1910. 

Anthemis  nobilis  has  been  cultivated  for  centuries  in 
English  gardens,  and  from  the  beginning  of  the  records 
it  has  been  used  in  domestic  medicine.  It  was  intro- 
duced into  Germany  from  Spain  about  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  It  is  now  grown  in  favorable  localities 
throughout  every  section  of  Europe,  and  especially  in 
Saxony,  as  well  as  in  Belgium  and  France.  The  name 
Roman  Chamomile  was  given  the  drug  growing  near 
Rome,  by  Joachim  Camerarius  (120),  1598. 

APOCYNUM  ("Indian Hemp,"  "Canadian Hemp") 

All  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.  excepting  that  of  1910  recognize 
Apocynum,  but  until  1880  it  appears  only  in  the  Secondary  List. 
The  early  editions,  1820,  1828  and  1830  (New  York),  give  place 
only  to  Apocynum  androscemifolium,  "Dogsbane,"  a  variety  now 
so  rare  that  it  can  scarcely  be  obtained,  even  as  a  museum  speci- 
men. The  variety  Apocynum  cannabinum,  "Indian  Hemp"  is 
mentioned  first  in  the  Philadelphia  edition  of  1830.  This,  like  all 
editions  following,  until  1870,  carries  both  varieties.  The  1880 
edition  limits  Apocynum  to  the  variety  cannabinum,  which  it 
designates  as  "Canadian  Hemp."  This  limitation  is  followed  in 
1890,  while  the  edition  of  1900  admits  "Apocynum  cannabinum 
and  closely  related  species  of  Apocynum." 

"American  Indian  Hemp"  is  the  name  given  to  pos- 
sibly a  score  of  closely  related  plants,  all  known  as 


18  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

Apocynum  cannabinum,  this  common  name  being  used 
in  contradistinction  to  the  true  "Indian  Hemp,"  of 
India,  Cannabis  indica.  The  name  "Indian  Hemp" 
was  given  to  this  plant  by  the  early  settlers  because  of 
its  bark,  which,  of  a  fibrous  character,  was  in  domestic 
use  by  the  American  Indians.  Since  the  days  of  the 
earliest  settlers,  who  learned  its  qualities  from  the 
Indians,  the  root  of  apocynum  has  been  used  in  de- 
coction as  an  active  hydragogue  cathartic  and  also  as 
a  diuretic.  As  a  remedy  in  "dropsy"  it  was  extensively 
employed  in  home  medication,  and  was  thus  intro- 
duced to  physicians  concerned  in  remedial  agents  of 
American  origin.  Its  favor  with  physicians  engaged  in 
general  practice,  led  finally  to  its  introduction  to  the 
pages  of  the  Pharmacopeia.  For  nearly  a  hundred  years, 
Eclectic  literature  as  well  as  that  of  American  botanies 
has  been  prolific  in  the  praises  of  apocynum,  as  shown 
by  all  their  publications;  note  especially  all  revisions  of 
the  American  Dispensatory,  (356).  In  their  early  prac- 
tice, apocynum  was  often  called  "The  Vegetable  Tro- 
car." In  1909,  Dr.  Frederick  B.  Power  and  Charles  W. 
Moore,  of  the  Wellcome  Research  Laboratories,  Lon- 
don (677),  presented  a  special  and  very  scientific  treatise 
on  the  Apocynum  constituents. 

ARNICA  (Arnica) 

Arnica  montana  is  official  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia, 
but  until  1860  it  is  mentioned  only  in  the  Secondary  List.  A  wide 
divergence  appears  as  regards  the  part  used.  The  early  editions 
name  "The  plant,"  and  give  as  the  common  name,  "Leopard's 
Bane."  The  1840  edition  mentions  "The  root  and  herb  of  Arnica 
montana."  In  1850  we  find  the  common  name,  Leopard's  Bane, 
used  for  the  last  time.  This  edition  is  notable  for  mentioning,  for 
the  first  time,  Arnica,  flowers,  neglecting  all  other  parts  of  the  plant, 
a  ruling  followed  by  all  later  editions,  although  the  editions  of  1880 
and  1890  admit  arnica  root,  as  well  as  Arnica  flowers.  The  edi- 
tions of  1900  and  1910  give  place  to  the  flowers  only. 


ASAFETIDA  19 

All  parts  of  this  plant,  Arnica  montana,  were  popular 
remedies  in  Germany  at  a  very  early  period.  The  early 
botanists,  such  as  Matthiolus  (414),  Gesner  (264)  and 
Clusius  (153),  had  a  knowledge  of  its  medicinal  qual- 
ities, as  used  by  the  common  people.  Franz  Joel  (341), 
of  Greifswald,  Germany,  expressly  recommended  it  in 
the  16th  century.  During  1678-79,  arnica  experienced 
an  enthusiastic  European  crusade  as  a  "new  remedy" 
in  the  cure  of  fevers,  the  hope  being  to  supplant  im- 
ported Peruvian  bark  by  this  domestic  drug.  Collin 
(162),  of  Vienna,  reported  a  thousand  patients  in  the 
Pazman  Hospital  cured  of  intermittents  by  the  flowers, 
whilst  other  physicians  were  scarcely  less  enthusiastic 
in  their  praises.  The  herb  was  recognized  in  the  Lon- 
don Pharmacopeia,  1788,  but  fell  into  disuse,  regaining 
in  later  years  a  position  as  an  application  in  the  form  of 
a  tincture  for  bruises,  sprains,  etc.,  in  which  direction 
it  is  yet  commended  in  both  domestic  and  professional 
modern  literature. 

ASAFETIDA  (Asafetida) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P..  from  1820  through  1910. 
As  official  sources  for  the  gum,  the  U.  S.  P.,  1910  edition,  names 
Ferula  Asafcetida,  Ferula  foetida,  and  "some  other  species  of 
Ferula  indigenous  to  Persia  and  adjacent  countries." 

Under  the  name  "Laser,"  a  substance  supposed  to 
be  asafetida,  Ferula  foetida,  has  been  from  all  time  used 
in  India  and  Persia,  and  thence  long  exported,  a  duty 
being  at  a  very  early  date  levied  thereon  at  the  Roman 
Custom  House  in  Alexandria.  Under  the  name  Hingu 
it  is  mentioned  in  Sanskrit  works  as  well  as  in  Susruta 
(622).  Arabian  and  Persian  travelers  of  the  Middle 
Ages  knew  it.  Ali  Istakhri  (337) ,  of  ancient  Persepolis, 
states  in  the  10th  century  that  it  was  abundantly  pro- 


20  PHARMACOPEIAS  DRUGS 

duced  between  Sistan  and  Makran,  of  Beluchistan, 
and  was  used  by  the  people  as  a  condiment.  It  has 
ever  been  employed  in  Arabic  therapy,  Matthseus 
Platearius  (513),  nearly  a  thousand  years  ago,  mention- 
ing it  in  his  work  on  simple  medicines,  De  Simplici 
Medicina.  Otho  of  Cremona,  near  that  period,  states 
that  the  more  fetid  the  drug,  the  better  its  qualities. 
The  "Physicians  of  Myddvai,"  (507),  (see  footnote  to 
Aconite),  valued  it  highly.  Briefly,  this  drug  drifted 
into  European  conspicuity  from  the  Orient,  where  it 
had  been  used  empirically  from  the  remotest  antiquity. 
For  centuries,  every  work  on  domestic  or  professional 
medicine  has  given  asafetida  a  setting.  On  this  subject, 
see  also  an  article  in  the  Pharmaceutical  Review,  March, 
1896.  As  might  be  expected,  Dymock,  Pharmaco- 
graphia  Indica,  Vol.  II,  goes  deeply  into  the  history  of 
asafetida,  his  description  and  history  covering  several 
pages.  From  this  great  work  we  extract,  as  follows: 
HISTORY. — "The  old  Greek  and  Latin  writers  on  Ma- 
teria  Medica  mention  two  kinds  of  Silphium — one  good 
or  sweet,  and  the  other  fetid.  Theophrastus  in  his 
History  of  Plants,  (vi,  3)  speaks  of  two  varieties,  of 
the  stem  and  of  the  root.  Dioscorides  mentions  two 
kinds,  one  coming  from  Cyrene  and  the  other  from 
Asia.  Some  consider  the  silphium  of  Cyrene  to  have 
been  entirely  different  from  our  Asafetida,  but  from  a 
passage  in  Strabo  this  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the 
case.  Pliny's  account  is  very  confused,  but  he  has 
collected  some  information  which  we  now  know  to  be 
correct.  N.  Myrepsicus  appears  to  be  the  first  writer 
who  mentions  the  name  asafitida,  which  he  says  is  an 
Italian  name  for  the  skordolasaron  of  the  Greeks  of  his 
day.  In  the  Rudens  of  Plautus,  (B.  C.  220),  the  scene 


ASAFETIDA  21 

of  which  is  near  Gyrene,  frequent  allusion  is  made  to 
the  growth  of  Laserpitium,  and  the  preparation  and 
export  of  the  gum-resin,  as  forming  the  staple  article 
of  trade.  The  Greek  and  Latin  writers  agree  in  saying 
that  the  silphium  or  laser  of  Gyrene  was  the  best,  but 
from  the  works  of  Pliny  we  find  that  it  was  almost  un- 
obtainable in  his  time,  relating  that  a  single  plant  was 
presented  to  the  Emperor  Nero  as  a  curiosity.  The 
gum  resin  of  F.  alliacea  is  the  Hing  of  the  natives  of 
India,  the  other  kind  being  seldom  used  by  them.  In 
Sanskrit  it  is  called  Hingu,  and  is  said  to  be  so  called 
from  its  killing  or  overpowering  all  other  odors. 

' 'Asafetida  must  have  been  used  in  India  from  a  very 
remote  period,  as  the  earliest  Sanskrit  writers  mention 
it.  The  plant  is  called  Jatuka,  a  word  derived  from  Jatu, 
'gum  or  lac;'  it  is  described  as  a  fragrant  plant,  in 
great  repute  as  a  condiment  among  vegetarians,  also 
as  an  antispasmodic  in  nervous  affections;  taken  daily 
it  was  thought  to  ward  off  attacks  of  malarial  fever. 
Hindu  medical  writers  direct  that  it  be  fried  before 
being  used. 

'  'Of  the  Mahometan  writers  on  Materia  Medica,  Ibn 
Sina  mentions  two  kinds  of  Asafetida,  'good'  and 
'fetid/  but  gives  no  description  of  them.  Ah'  Istakhri, 
who  also  lived  in  the  10th  century,  states  that  the  drug 
is  produced  abundantly  in  the  desert  between  Sistan 
and  Makran,  and  is  much  used  by  the  people  as  a  con- 
diment. The  geographer  Edrisi,  who  wrote  about  the 
middle  of  the  12th  century,  asserts  that  Asafetida, 
called  in  Arabic  Hiltit,  is  collected  largely  in  Western 
Afganistan.  Haji  Zein  the  druggist,  in  the  14th  century, 
tells  us  that  the  two  kinds  of  asafetida  are  produced  by 
two  different  plants,  the  black  and  the  white  Anjudan, 


22  PHABMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

and  that  the  latter  produces  the  kind  known  as  'good.' 
Mir  Muhammad  Mumin  of  Shiraz,  who  wrote  in  the 
17th  century,  says  that  'good'  asafetida  has  a  reddish 
color,  and  is  produced  by  a  plant  vulgarly  known  as 
cap-leaf,  while  the  other  has  a  disagreeable  odor  like  a 
leek,  and  is  known  as  'stink-finger.'  In  describing 
the  medicinal  properties  of  the  drug,  the  Mahometan 
physicians  closely  follow  Dioscorides. 

"The  flowering  stems  of  the  asafetida  plants  are  eaten 
as  a  vegetable,  as  stated  by  Pliny.  Aitchison,  who 
traveled  hi  Eastern  Persia  in  1884-5,  notices  their  use 
for  this  purpose,  and  Dr.  Peters  forwarded  to  us  the 
flowering  stem  of  F.  fetida,  Regel,  which  he  had  pur- 
chased in  the  bazar  at  Quetta. 

"Guibourt  (1850)  was  the  first  European  writer  to 
point  out  the  difference  between  the  Asafetida  of  India 
known  as  Hing,  and  that  of  the  European  Pharma- 
copeias called  in  India  Hingra.  Vigier,  1869,  calls  Hing 
Asafetida  nauseeuse.  To  Mr.  Ardeshir  Mehrban,  a 
merchant  of  Yezd,  we  are  indebted  for  most  of  the  fol- 
lowing particulars  regarding  the  source  of  this  drug. 
Mr.  Ardeshir,  having  himself  visited  the  hills  where  the 
plant  grows,  was  able  to  speak  from  personal  observa- 
tion. He  states  that  the  Asafetida  plant  grows  wild  on 
the  hills  of  Khorasan,  in  very  stony  ground.  The  hill 
men  collect  the  gum-resin,  taking  an  advance  from  the 
merchants.  The  time  for  collecting  it  is  in  the  spring. 
The  plant  is  not  nearly  as  large  as  that  which  produces 
the  asafetida  of  European  commerce,  the  diameter  at 
the  crown  of  the  root  being  seldom  more  than  two 
inches.  The  collectors  protect  each  plant  by  building 
a  small  cairn  of  stones  round  it;  they  also  remove  the 
soil  from  the  upper  portion  of  the  root,  making  a  kind 


ASPIDIUM  23 

of  circular  basin.  When  the  stem  begins  to  grow  it  is 
cut  off,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  root  being  wounded, 
a  small  quantity  of  very  choice  gum  is  collected,  which 
seldom  finds  its  way  into  the  market.  Afterwards  a 
slice  of  the  root,  about  %  inch  thick,  is  removed  every 
two  or  three  days  with  the  exudation  adhering  to  it, 
until  the  root  is  exhausted.  The  collected  mass,  con- 
sisting of  alternate  layers  of  root  and  gum  resin,  when 
packed  in  skins  (in  quantities  of  about  100  Ibs.),  forms 
the  Ring  of  Indian  commerce." 

ASPIDIUM  (Male  Fern) 

Introduced  in  1830  under  the  name  Fttix  Mas,  (Aspidium 
Filix  mas),  this  substance  appears  in  both  editions  of  the  1830 
U.  S.  P.,  (Philadelphia  and  New  York),  but  is  mentioned  in  the 
Secondary  List,  only,  until  1860,  when  it  was  transferred  to  the 
Primary  List.  In  1880  it  became  official  under  its  present  title, 
(Aspidium),  which  it  holds  in  all  subsequent  editions.  The  species 
of  aspidium  official  in  the  1910  edition  is  Dryopteris  Filix-mas, 
(Linne)  Schott,  or  Dryopteris  marginalis,  (Linn6)  Asa  Gray. 

The  root  of  aspidium,  Dryopteris  Filix-mas,  was  used 
by  the  ancients  as  a  vermifuge.  Theophrastus  (633), 
Dioscorides  (194)  and  Pliny  (514)  all  described  it.  It 
passed  through  the  Middle  Ages  as  a  domestic  remedy, 
was  noticed,  1535,  by  Valerius  Cordus  (169),  and  had  a 
place  as  a  drug  to  be  taxed  in  Germany  hi  the  16th 
century.  Neglected  then,  it  was  subsequently  revived 
as  a  chief  constituent,  combined  with  purgatives,  hi  a 
secret  remedy  for  tape-worm,  one  of  the  promoters 
being  Daniel  Mathieu,  an  apothecary  of  Berlin.  His 
treatment  was  so  successful  that  Frederick  the  Great 
purchased  the  formula  for  an  annuity  of  thirty  pounds, 
and  conferred  on  its  originator  the  dignity  of  "Aulic 
Councillor."  Madame  Nouffer,  the  widow  of  a  surgeon 
at  Murten,  Switzerland,  was  also  paid  18,000  livres  by 


24  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Louis  XIV  for  a  tape-worm  cure,  consisting  chiefly  of 
powdered  fern  root.  J.  Peschier,  1825,  a  pharmacist  of 
Geneva,  introduced  the  ethereal  extract  (extract  by 
ether),  which  was  not,  however,  employed  to  any  ex- 
tent in  England  until  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 
Its  empirical  record  introduced  male  fern  to  the  medical 
profession. 

ASPIDOSPERMA  (Quebracho) 

First  recognized  in  1890.  Dropped  from  Pharmacopeia  of 
1900,  but  rein  traduced  in  1910. 

From  time  unrecorded  this  South  American  drug 
has  been  used  by  the  natives  of  its  habitat  as  a  tanning 
material.  In  1878,  Schickedanz  introduced  it  to  Eu- 
rope. The  name  Quebracho,  (from  quebrar  hacho, 
"breaking  the  ax,"  Am.  Disp.),  is  applied  to  several 
hard  wood  trees,  but  the  official  species  from  which  the 
bark  is  taken  is  Aspidosperma  Quebracho  bianco, 
Schlechtendal.  In  1880,  Dr.  August  Volz  (663a)  made 
a  study,  accompanied  by  microscopic  sections,  of  Que- 
bracho Colorado,  in  which  he  describes  the  quebracho 
resin,  which  is  probably  the  "quebracho  gum"  de- 
scribed in  1878  by  N.  Pedro  Arata  (25a).  In  1881, 
Mr.  G.  Fraude  (246a)  gave  a  process  of  distinguishing 
the  true  bark  from  its  sophisticants.  In  1879,  Dr.  Pen- 
zolt  (498a)  gave  a  report  on  the  therapeutic  uses  and 
physiological  action  of  quebracho,  and  in  the  same 
year  Dr.  Burgos  contributed  a  paper  on  its  pharma- 
ceutical preparations.  In  1882,  Dr.  O.  Hesse  (315a) 
made  a  chemical  examination  of  the  Argentine  drugs, 
obtaining  from  the  official  species  several  alkaloids. 
In  1892,  Mr.  F.  A.  Thompson  (635a),  of  Parke,  Davis 
and  Company,  Detroit,  contributed  to  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association  a  valuable  study  of  many 


AURANTII  AMARI  ET  DULCIS  CORTEX         25 

drugs,  including  quebracho  bark,  giving  the  qualities 
of  eight  samples,  as  determined  by  Dr.  Lyons'  (395a) 
method  of  examination. 

In  1899,  a  treatise  from  the  pen  of  Frederick  L.  Lew- 
ton  (382a)  presented  in  detail  "the  different  kinds  of 
quebracho  known  in  South  America,  as  Quebracho 
bianco,  Q.  Colorado,  Q.  moreno,  Q.  prieto,  Q.  negro,  etc.," 
the  statement  being  made  that  these  were  derived  from 
''trees  belonging  to  widely  distinct  genera,"  all  hard 
woods,  thus  confirming  the  derivation  of  the  name,  as 
accepted  by  the  American  Dispensatory.  Mr.  Lewton 
states,  furthermore,  that  although  Quebracho  bianco  is 
the  tree  yielding  the  bark  used  in  medicine,  its  con- 
sumption in  South  America  is  "insignificant  when  com- 
pared to  that  of  Quebracho  Colorado."  This  latter 
tree  "yields  (382a)  25  to  28  per  cent,  tannin,  10  per 
cent,  more  than  is  yielded  by  the  best  sumach  leaves." 
The  entire  trunks  are  ground  into  sawdust,  and  ex- 
ported for  making  extractives  used  in  tanning.  (Lew- 
ton).1 

AURANTII  AMARI  ET  DULCIS  CORTEX 

(Sweet  and  Bitter  Orange) 

Orange  Peel  is  mentioned  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  begin- 
ning in  1820,  but  not  until  1860  is  a  division  made  between  Sweet 
and  Bitter  Orange,  excepting  that  we  must  note  that  the  New  York 
edition  of  1830  recognizes  Bitter  Orange  only.  The  1860  edition 
also  recognizes  Orange  Flowers,  which  are  retained  in  the  1870  and 
1880  editions,  but  dropped  in  1890.  Both  Sweet  and  Bitter 
Orange  Peel  are  official,  from  1860  to  the  last  edition,  in  1910. 
The  official  species  for  Bitter  Orange,  in  1910,  is  Citrus  Auran- 
tium  amara,  L.,  and  for  Sweet  Orange,  Citrus  Aurantium  sinen- 
sis. 

Sweet  and  Bitter  Orange.  The  orange,  Citrus,  was  un- 
known to  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  Arabs, 

1  Mr.  Lewton  is  now  Curator  of  the  Medical  Division  of  the  National  Museum  at 
Washington. 


26  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

(Gallesio),  (255),  are  accepted  as  having  introduced  it 
into  Europe,  first  through  Africa,  Arabia  and  Syria, 
from  its  original  home  in  northern  India.  In  that 
country  a  wild  orange  still  grows,  supposedly  the  parent 
of  the  cultivated  fruit,  be  it  sweet  or  bitter.  The  first 
specimen  of  this  fruit  to  find  its  way  into  Europe  was 
the  bitter  orange,  cultivated  in  Rome  in  1200  A.  D., 
the  sweet  orange  not  being  introduced  until  the  15th 
century,  when  it  was  imported  by  the  Portuguese.  The 
first  oranges  brought  into  England,  seven  in  number, 
were  imported  by  a  Spanish  ship,  in  1290.  An  Arabian 
physician  of  the  12th  century,  Avicenna  (30),  employed 
the  juice  of  the  bitter  orange  in  medicine. 

BALSAMUM   PERUVIANUM  (Balsam  of  Peru) 

This  name  was  first  employed  in  the  New  York  edition,  1830, 
U.  S.  P.  The  substance  was  mentioned  in  all  the  early  editions 
under  the  name  Myrpxylon,  until  1850,  when  the  modern  name 
was  employed.  Official  in  att  editions  of  U.  S.  P. 

This  drug,  obtained  from  the  Toluifera  Pereirce, 
came  to  the  attention  of  the  earlier  Spanish  explorers 
of  South  America  as  a  substance  commonly  employed 
by  the  natives  as  a  remedy  for  wounds.  It  constituted 
a  part  of  the  tribute  paid  by  the  natives  to  the  Indian 
chiefs  of  Cuscatlan,  to  whom  it  was  presented  in  cu- 
riously ornamented  earthen  jars.  This  reminds  us  of 
the  curious  jars  in  which  we  observed  mastich  sold,  on 
the  island  of  Scio,  by  the  collectors.  These  jars,  holding 
a  few  ounces  of  the  purest  and  clearest  "tears"  of  mas- 
tich, have  been  thus,  in  this  unique  form,  an  article  of 
local  commerce  in  Scio  since  before  the  Moslem  rule. 

"Peruvian  Balsam,"  on  its  first  importation  into 
Europe,  brought  enormous  prices,  as  much  as  $45  an 
ounce  being  paid  therefor,  and  in  Rome,  100  ducats,  or 


BALSAMUM  TOLUTANUM  27 

over  $200  an  ounce!  Pope  Pius  V  permitted  the  Bishop 
of  the  Indies  to  substitute  this  Balsam  of  Guatemala 
for  that  of  Egypt  in  the  preparation  of  the  chrism  used 
in  the  Catholic  churches.  Various  early  descriptions 
of  travelers  refer  to  it  more  or  less  enthusiastically, 
between  the  conquest  of  Guatemala,  1524,  and  1628, 
at  which  date  Hernandez  (314)  described  the  tree. 
From  the  domestic  use  of  the  drug  it  crept  into  German 
pharmacy  in  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century.  In 
consequence  of  the  fact  that  the  exports  of  Guatemala 
came  through  the  port  of  Lima,  Peru,  the  misleading 
name  of  "Peruvian  Balsam"  was  in  the  early  days 
affixed  to  it,  paralleling  somewhat  the  record  of  "Mocha 
coffee,"  which  is  not  grown  in  Mocha,  or  even  there- 
about, but  was  exported  therefrom  in  the  early  days  of 
Arabian  coffee. 

BALSAMUM  TOLUTANUM  (Balsam  of  Tolu) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
Until  1850,  however,  its  official  name  was  Tolutanum  (Toluifera 
balsamum,  1820,  Myroxylon  Toluiferum,  1830  and  1840),  excepting 
in  the  New  York  edition,  1830,  in  which  the  modern  name,  Bal- 
samum Tolutanum,  was  first  employed. 

Balsam  Tolu  was  found  in  use  by  the  natives  on  the 
discovery  of  its  native  countries,  and  is  today  collected 
after  the  primitive  manner,  as  is  also  true  of  "Balsam 
of  Peru."  Monardes  (447)  hi  his  treatise,  1574,  on 
West  Indian  productions,  describes  the  Indian  method 
of  incising  the  bark  and  affixing  shells  of  black  wax  to 
receive  the  balsam,  in  a  district  near  Cartagena  called 
Tolu,  from  which  the  material  takes  its  name.  This 
method  of  collecting  the  drug  reminds  us  of  that  em- 
ployed in  Asia  Minor,  of  collecting  the  juice  of  the 
Scammony  plant,  in  the  half  shell  of  the  clam.  Mo- 


28  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

nardes  states  that  the  drug  was  much  esteemed  by  the 
Indians,  and  later  by  the  Spaniards,  who  transported 
it  to  Spain.  Clusius  (153)  received,  1581,  a  specimen 
from  Morgan,  an  apothecary  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  The 
price  list  of  the  city  of  Frankfort,  Germany,  1669, 
gives  it  a  place,  while  in  1646  it  was  noticed  in  the 
records  of  the  city  of  Basle.  But  notwithstanding 
that  Monardes  (447)  figured  a  broken  pod  and  leaflet, 
and  Humboldt  and  Bonpland  (331)  saw  the  tree  in 
New  Granada,  1799,  it  was  reserved  for  Weir,  1863,  a 
plant  collector  to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society, 
London,  to  obtain  the  first  good  specimens  of  the  pods 
and  leaves,  Guerin,  1868,  first  obtaining  the  flowers. 
Thus  a  complete  description  of  a  drug  known  in  do- 
mestic medicine  for  centuries  was  finally  authori- 
tatively established.  The  introduction  of  balsam  of 
tolu  into  medicine  and  pharmacy  followed  the  track 
of  its  empirical  record,  as  is  true  of  all  other  natural 
drugs  of  the  Pharmacopeia. 

BELLADONNA  RADIX  ET  FOLIA 

(Belladonna,  Deadly  Nightshade) 

Belladonna  Leaves  have  been  official  in  all  editions  of  the 
Pharmacopeia.  The  edition  of  1860  first  mentions  Belladonna 
Root,  but  restricts  it  to  "plants  more  than  two  years  old,"  a  re- 
striction followed  by  the  edition  of  1870,  but  removed  in  1880 
and  all  editions  following. 

The  plant  Atropa  Belladonna  is  native  to  southern 
Europe,  extending  thence  to  the  Crimea,  Caucasia  and 
the  northern  parts  of  Asia  Minor.  About  1504  a  book 
appeared  in  Paris  titled  the  Grand  Herbier,  which 
carried  the  first  authentic  notice  of  belladonna,  although 
the  term  "solatrum  furiale,"  used  by  Saladinus  of 
Ascoli  (570),  about  1450,  is  presumed  to  refer  to  it. 
The  effects  of  belladonna,  internally,  were  subjects  of 


ATROPA  BELLADONNA  CULTIVATION  (Page  28) 
Presented  by  Eli  Lilly  &  Company. 


BELLADONNA  RADIX  ET  FOLIA  29 

treatises  by  Amoreaux  (20a),  Paris,  1760;  Daries  (184), 
Leipsic,  1776;  Munch  (453),  Gottingen,  1783  and  1785, 
and  subsequently  by  all  who  wrote  comprehensively  on 
medicine.  In  toxicology,  the  German  botanist,  Leonard 
Fuchs,  (251)  figured  the  plant  as  Solatium  somniferum, 
1542,  fully  identifying  its  poisonous  properties,  and 
J.  M.  Faber,  Augsburg,  1677  (231a),  wrote  also  on  its 
poisonous  action.  But  the  people  in  the  plant's  habitat 
have  ever  been  aware  that  all  parts,  even  to  the  berries, 
were  poisonous.  So  far  as  we  can  locate  its  record,  the 
first  study  concerning  its  local  use  in  the  eye  is  that  of 
Himly  (317a)  of  Paris,  1802,  although  country  people 
in  its  habitat  have  known  from  all  time  that  it  possesses 
the  power  of  dilating  the  pupil.  In  physicians'  prac- 
tice belladonna  has  a  more  recent  introduction,  due  to 
the  commendation  of  the  renowned  pharmacist,  Mr. 
Peter  Squire  (611),  of  London,  who  about  1860  com- 
mended belladonna  tincture  as  the  basis  of  a  useful 
liniment,  for  the  relief  of  neuralgic  pains.  The  drug  is 
now  used  chiefly  in  the  making  of  the  alkaloid  atropine 
(now,  1921,  largely  obtained  from  Stramonium,  which 
see),  and  in  the  preparation  of  belladonna  plaster. 
Johnson  and  Johnson,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and 
Seabury  and  Johnson,  New  York  City,  now  use  an 
enormous  amount  of  belladonna,  yearly,  in  the  mak- 
ing of  plasters.  Dymock  is  authority  (Pharmaco- 
graphia  Indica,  Vol.  2,  p.  572)  for  the  statement  that 
the  plant  "is  not  mentioned  by  Sanskrit  writers  and 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  ever  used  medicinally 
in  India."  In  America,  the  common  name  "Deadly 
Nightshade"  is  also  applied  to  other  species  of  So- 
lanum.  Concerning  these,  Professor  Lewis  Kund- 
son,  of  the  Laboratory  of  Plant  Physiology,  Cornell 


30  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

University,  in  a  private  letter  writes  us  as  follows: 
"There  are  two  species  of  Nightshade  growing  about 
Ithaca.  The  more  common  is  Solanum  Dulcamara,  and 
the  second  is  Solanum  nigra.  These  are  both  of  Euro- 
pean origin,  and  are  escaped  species." 

BENZOINUM  (Benzoin,  Gum  Benjamin) 

Mentioned  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820  to 
1910.  The  1910  edition  names  as  official  the  gum  of  Styrax  Ben- 
zoin, and  "some  other  species  of  Styrax  growing  in  the  East 
Indies.", 

Benzoinum,  from  Styrax  Benzoin,  curiously  enough, 
escaped  the  attention  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  nor, 
so  far  as  is  known,  did  those  energetic  tradesmen  of  the 
10th  to  the  13th  centuries,  the  Arabians  and  Persians, 
carry  it  to  China.  Ibn  Batuta  (333a),  1325-49,  men- 
tions "Java  frankincense,"  which  under  the  Arabian 
name  became  corrupted  into  Banjawi,  Benjui,  Benzui, 
Benzoe,  Benzoin,  and  finally  even  to  Benjamin.  After 
a  hundred  years,  the  sultan  of  Egypt,  Melech  Elmaydi, 
sent  it  to  the  Doge  of  Venice  among  other  presents, 
and  in  1490  a  second  Doge  of  Venice  was  presented  with 
a  larger  amount,  by  the  same  sultan  of  Egypt.  Con- 
sidered still  a  precious  balsam,  in  1476  Caterina  Cor- 
naro,  queen  of  Cyprus,  received  from  Egypt  fifteen 
pounds  of  "Benzui."  Later  travelers  in  Siam  and  the 
Malabar  Coast,  Venetian  tradesmen  and  others,  gave 
it  due  consideration.  During  and  after  this  time  it 
became  regularly  imported  into  Europe.  Being  sub- 
mitted to  dry  distillation  in  rude  paper  cones  over  a 
pan,  the  condensed  distillate,  or  flowers,  under  the  name 
of  Flores  Benzoes,  in  the  17th  century,  gave  origin  to 
the  now  familiar  Benzoic  Acid.  Thus  from  the  em- 
piricism of  the  past,  this  grateful  flavoring  agent,  anti- 


ATROPA  BELLADONNA  CULTIVATION  (Page  28) 
Presented  by  Johnson  &  Johnson 


BERBERIS  31 

septic,  and  preservative  was  introduced  to  the  medicine 
and  pharmacy  of  today. 

BERBERIS  (Berberis,  Barberry) 

Berberis  aquifolium  is  mentioned  in  the  1900  edition  only. 
The  New  York  edition  of  1830  names  "The  berries  of  Berberis 
Canadensis."  The  editions  of  1860  and  1870  mention  in  their 
Secondary  List  "The  bark  of  the  root  of  Berberis  vulgaris."  All 
other  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.  ignore  Berberis  completely. 

The  berberis  officially  recorded  in  the  Pharmacopeia 
of  the  United  States,  Berberis  aquifolium,  or  Mahonia, 
was  brought  to  the  attention  of  physicians  by  Dr. 
Bundy,  an  Eclectic  physician  of  California,  through  the 
manufacturing  house  of  Parke,  Davis  and  Company, 
Detroit,  who  established  it  in  general  professional  use. 
(467).  Mahonia  had  previously  been  used  throughout 
the  Western  States  as  a  domestic  remedy  in  the  direc- 
tion commended  by  Dr.  Bundy,  and  in  many  respects 
it  paralleled  the  domestic  and  official  uses  of  its  near 
relatives  in  the  Orient  and  elsewhere. 

The  Pharmacopeia  of  India,  under  the  common 
name  Berberis,  recognizes  three  species  of  barberry,  all 
having  domestic  records  as  tonics,  dating  from  the 
earliest  tunes,  and  being  used  in  decoction  or  infusion 
in  inflammatory  discharges,  as  well  as  in  applications 
for  various  forms  of  ophthalmic  inflammation.  The 
Arabian  physicians  employed  this  plant.  Dioscorides 
(194),  Pliny  (514),  Celsus  (136),  Galen  (254a)  and 
others  recognized  it.  It  was  one  of  the  Indian  drugs 
on  which  the  Alexandrians  levied  duty,  176-180  A.  D. 
Among  Greek  antiquities  are  preserved  small  vases  of 
barberry,  showing  its  value  in  ancient  times.  Among 
these  vases  is  one  bearing  the  label  of  a  certain  Hera- 
elides  of  Tarentum,  who  is  mentioned  by  Celsus  as 


32  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

having  a  reputation  for  treating  diseases  of  the  eye. 
In  formulas  for  eye  diseases  given  by  Galen  (254a), 
barberry  is  authoritatively  recognized.  The  natives  of 
India  use  an  extract  made  from  various  species  growing 
in  northern  India,  which  is  sold  in  the  bazaars  under  the 
name  "Rusot,"  and  used  not  only  in  affections  of  the 
eye,  but  as  a  tonic  and  febrifuge.  The  qualities  of  both 
the  official  drug  and  its  foreign  relatives  are  similar, 
and  were  thus  introduced  by  the  common  people. 

BUCHU  (Buchu) 

Mentioned  first  in  1840  under  the  name,  "Diosma,  Buchu." 
In  1850  the  name  Buchu  became  official,  this  title  being  still  em- 
ployed in  the  edition  of  1910.  Several  varieties  of  Barosma  are 
recognized  in  different  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.  as  producing  the 
official  "Buchu"  leaves.  The  1910  edition  names  as  official  the 
leaves  of  Barosma  betulina,  (Short  Buchu  of  commerce),  and  of 
Barosma  serratifolia  (Long  Buchu) . 

The  Hottentots  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  used  the 
leaves  of  the  buchu  plant,  Barosma  betulina,  as  a  do- 
mestic remedy,  and  from  them  the  colonists  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  derived  their  information  concerning  it. 
Reece  (540)  and  Company,  London,  1821,  first  imported 
buchu  and  introduced  it  to  pharmacy  and  the  medical 
profession,  among  whom  it  has  since  enjoyed  more  or 
less  favor,  as  well  as  in  private  formulae  and  domestic 
practice.  Perhaps  no  "patent"  American  medicine 
has  ever  enjoyed  greater  notoriety  than,  about  1860, 
did  a  weak  decoction  of  the  leaves  under  the  term 
"Helmbold's  Buchu",  which  in  six-ounce  bottles  was 
sold  in  quantities,  even  car-load  lots,  commanding  the 
price  of  one  dollar  per  bottle.  During  the  crusade  of 
this  preparation  by  Helmbold,  the  medical  profession 
of  America,  probably  inspired  by  press  comments,  pre- 
scribed buchu  very  freely.  Buchu  is  still  in  demand, 


CALAMUS  33 

and   is    still   favored   as   a   constituent    of    remedies 
recommended  to  the  laity. 

CALAMUS  (Calamus,  Sweet  Flag) 

Mentioned  in  all  the  early  Pharmacopeias  from  1820,  but 
given  in  Secondary  List  until  1840,  when  it  was  promoted  to  the 
Primary  List,  holding  this  place  in  1850.  In  1860  it  was  again 
reduced.  It  was  official  in  the  editions  of  1880,  1890  and  1900,  but 
was  dropped  entirely  from  the  edition  of  1910. 

The  use  of  calamus,  Acorus  Calamus,  in  the  domestic 
medication  of  India,  is  recorded  from  the  very  earliest 
times.  It  is  sold  commonly  in  the  bazaars,  and  Ainslie 
(7)  in  his  Materia  Medico,  of  Hindoostan,  1813, 
states  that  in  consequence  of  its  great  value  in  the 
bowel  complaints  of  children,  a  severe  penalty  was 
placed  on  the  refusal  of  any  druggist  to  open  his  door 
in  the  night  to  sell  calamus,  when  demanded.  The 
antiquity  of  its  use  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
one  of  the  constituents  of  the  ointment  Moses  was  com- 
manded to  make  for  use  in  the  Tabernacle,  (Ex.  xxx), 
while  the  prophet  Ezekiel  says  of  the  commerce  of  Tyre, 
"Bright  iron,  cassia,  and  calamus  were  hi  thy  market." 
Theophrastus  (633)  mentions  calamus,  and  Celsus 
(136),  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  refers  to  it  as  a 
drug  from  India.  In  the  sixteenth  century  Amatus 
Lusitanus  (16a)  reports  it  as  imported  into  Venice,  and 
in  1692  Rheede  (547)  figures  it  as  an  Indian  plant  under 
the  name  Vacha,  the  same  name  being  stiU  applied  to  it 
on  the  Malabar  Coast.  From  its  tropical  home  cala- 
mus has  spread  until  it  is  now  found  in  all  temperate 
climates  suitable  for  its  growth,  the  market  supply 
coming  mainly  from  Southern  Russia,  through  Ger- 
many. The  therapeutic  use  of  calamus  in  pharmacy 
and  licensed  medicine,  as  with  other  like  substances,  is 
a  gift  of  empiricism  founded  in  the  far  distant  past. 


34  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

CALENDULA  (Calendula,  Marigold) 

Calendula  has  no  place  in  the  early  Pharmacopeias.  It  was 
official  in  the  editions  of  1880,  1890  and  1900,  but  was  omitted 
altogether  in  1910. 

Marigold,  Calendula  officinalis,  has  been  known, 
practically,  from  the  beginning  of  documentary  records 
in  scientific  or  medicinal  lines.  A  native  of  Southern 
Europe  and  the  Orient,  it  is  found  under  various 
names,  from  Japan  to  India,  from  the  Orient  to 
North  America,  to  which  it  was  carried  by  Euro- 
pean colonists,  according  to  Josselyn  (345),  before 
1670.  Dymock  (Pharmacographia  Indica,  Vol.  II, 
p.  322)  states  that  calendula  is  a  weed  of  culti- 
vation in  Northern  India.  In  the  early  days  of 
English  mediaeval  medication  it  was  employed  hi  de- 
coctions for  fevers,  and  as  a  hot  drink  to  promote  per- 
spiration. The  juice  was  also  used  empirically  for  sore 
eyes,  and  as  an  application  to  warts.  Its  popular  use, 
as  heired  from  a  tune  lost  to  history,  led  to  its  final 
utilization  by  the  medical  profession,  and  to  its  position 
in  mediaeval  herbals,  as  also  in  many  Pharmacopeias 
and  treatises  on  European  medicines  and  medication. 

CALUMBA  (Jateorrhiza*  Calumba) 

Mentioned  first  in  1860,  calumba  retains  its  place  in  all  fol- 
lowing editions.  The  official  species  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  is 
Jateorhiza  palmata. 

Persons  familiar  wit*h  our  common  yellow  parilla, 
Menispermum  canadense,  have  a  good  idea  of  the  plant 
that  yields  the  calumba  root  of  commerce.  Indeed,  a 

*  Derived  from  the  Greek  words  idler,  physician,  and'r&taz,  root,  evidently  in  allusion 
to  its  healing  virtues.  Most  German  and  a  few  English  authorities  (*.  g.  Fliickiger,  the 
German  Pharmacopeia  of  1890,  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia  of  1880,  and  others),  spell  the 
name  "jateorrhiza,"  with  the  two  r's,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Miers,  the  author  of  the 
name,  spelled  it  with  a  single  r.  In  this  he  is  followed  by  most  authorities  (except  the 
Germans),  including  the  Index  Kewensis  and  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia  of  1890.  Marme 
(Pharmacognosie,  1886),  suggests  that  the  name  jatrorhiza  should  be  used  instead  of 
jateorrhua,  and  so  also  does  Koehler  (Medicinal-pflanzen,  140). 


CALUMBA  35 

casual  observer  would  take  an  illustration  of  one  for  the 
other,  so  closely  do  they  resemble  each  other  in  shape 
of  leaf,  stem,  and  general  floral  appearance.  One  au- 
thor, Roxburgh,  (559),  (Flora  Ind.,  Vol.  3,  p.  807),  has 
placed  the  plant  in  the  genus  Menispermum.  The 
genus  jateorhiza  as  now  constituted  consists  of  three 
species,  all  natives  of  tropical  Africa.  It  belongs  to  the 
natural  order  menispermacece.  The  plant  which  pro- 
duces the  Colombo  root  of  commerce  is  a  herbaceous 
vine  climbing  over  trees  in  the  forests  of  eastern  tropi- 
cal Africa  in  the  territory  of  Mozambique  and  Quili- 
mani.  The  plants  vary  much  in  the  shape  of  the  leaves 
and  in  the  amount  of  hispidity  in  the  stem,  and  were 
formerly  considered  as  belonging  to  two  species,  Jateo- 
rhiza calumba  and  Jateorhiza  palmata,  but  later  bota- 
nists have  united  them  under  the  former  name. 

Calumba  (also  Columbo)  root  has  long  been  in  use 
under  the  name  "kalumb"  among  the  African  tribes 
of  Mozambique,  (Berry),  (63),  who  employed  it  as  a 
remedy  for  dysentery  and  other  diseases,  and  who  un- 
doubtedly brought  it  to  the  immediate  knowledge  of 
the  Portuguese  when  they  obtained  possession  of  that 
country  in  1508.  Through  the  influence  of  traders, 
knowledge  of  the  drug  was  slowly  diffused  among  the 
Europeans  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries. 

Our  first  definite  information  regarding  calumba 
root,  however,  dates  from  the  year  1671,  when  Fran- 
ciscus  Redi,  1626-1697,  (538),  born  at  Arezzo  and 
physician  to  the  Duke  of  Toscana,  describing  it  under 
the  name  Calumba,  made  its  medicinal  virtues  con- 
spicuous. 

In  1695  the  celebrated  Leeuwenhoek  (376),  in  his 


36  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

work  "Arcana  Naturae,"  recorded  some  chemical  ex- 
periments that  he  had  made  with  this  root,  which  he 
calls  "radix  indica,  rays  columba."  He  also  introduced 
illustrations  of  crystals  observed  in  the  study  of  this 
drug.  Contemporaneously  with  this  physicist,  J.  C. 
Semmedus  (592)  (probably  in  1689  or  shortly  before), 
mentions  Calumba  in  his  writings  as  occurring  among 
drugs  originating  from  India.  This  author's  work  has 
become  more  prominent  in  a  later  edition  (1722). 

Valmont-Bomare  (656c)  in  the  1764  edition  of  his 
dictionary  describes  "calumbe"  as  the  root  of  an  un- 
known tree  brought  to  us  from  India.  He  adds  that  in 
Bengal  this  root  is  considered  a  specific  in  cases  of 
colics,  indigestion,  and  against  the  effects  of  "mort-du- 
chien,"  which  is  the  old  French  name  for  colchicum. 

Not,  however,  until  in  close  succession  appeared  the 
treatises  on  calumba  root  by  Gaubius  (257a),  1771, 
Cartheuser  (129),  1773,  and  Percival  (499),  1773,  was 
there  much  general  distribution  of  knowledge  con- 
cerning this  drug.  In  this  connection  it  is  perhaps  of 
interest  to  note  that  in  a  previous  translation  (dated 
1755)  of  Cartheuser's  Materia  Medica,  calumba  root  is 
not  to  be  found. 

Through  Percival's  recommendation  especially,  the 
drug  rapidly  gained  entrance  into  European  Materia 
Medicas,  and  since  about  1776  we  find  a  record  of  it  in 
many  of  the  Pharmacopeias  of  European  countries. 
However,  the  geographical  and  botanical  origin  of  cal- 
umba root  as  yet  remained  a  mystery.  The  Portu- 
guese, as  already  stated,  having  had  a  monopoly  of  the 
trade  in  this  article,  seem  to  have  been  careful  not  to 
disclose  its  origin,  and  made  it  a  custom  to  carry  it  to 
India,  and  then  to  export  it  to  Europe  from  Indian  in- 


CALUMBA  37 

stead  of  African  ports.  Hence  for  a  long  time  the 
general  impression  prevailed  that  the  plant  was  a  native 
of  India,  and  that  the  capital  of  Ceylon  (Colombo) 
gave  the  drug  its  name. 

From  about  1770,  however,  the  suspicion  that  cal- 
umba  root  was  of  African  origin  had  been  gaining 
ground.  In  this  year  Philibert  Commerson,  a  French 
physician,  collected  a  specimen  of  a  certain  plant  grow- 
ing in  the  garden  of  M.  Poivre  in  the  Isle  de  France, 
which  Lamarck  in  1797  named  Mehispermum  palmatum, 
stating  that  this  menispermum  (of  which  he  described 
the  male  plant  only),  perhaps  yielded  the  root  that  is 
brought  to  us  from  India  under  the  name  of  calombo 
or  Colombo  root.  He  adds,  however,  that  "it  seems  to 
be  indigenous  to  India." 

In  1805  a  distinct  advance  was  made  in  establishing 
its  African  origin.  M.  Fortin  in  this  year  brought  the 
root  of  a  male  calumba  plant  from  Mozambique  to  the 
city  of  Madras,  where  it  was  raised  and  cultivated  by 
Dr.  James  Anderson.  From  this  specimen  Dr.  Berry 
(63),  in  1811,  published  a  botanical  description  in  the 
"Asiatic  Researches"  in  which  he  also  gives  definite 
information  regarding  its  origin  and  uses  in  its  native 
country.  The  Specimen  was  transported  later  by  him 
to  the  Calcutta  Botanical  Gardens.  De  Candolle  in 
1818  named  the  plant  Cocculus  palmatus.  However, 
the  female  plant  remained  still  unknown. 

In  1825,  Captain  W.  F.  Owen  brought  a  male  and  a 
female  plant  from  Oibo,  in  East  Africa,  to  Mauritius, 
where  it  was  cultivated  and  observed  by  Bojer.  From 
this  source,  at  last,  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker,  (324),  in  1830, 
was  enabled  to  describe  the  whole  plant,  both  male  and 
female,  under  the  name  of  Cocculus  palmatus,  Hooker. 


38  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

The  name  of  the  genus  Jateorhiza  was  finally  created 
in  1849  by  Miers.  (Hooker,  Niger  Flora,  p.  212). 
Chasmanthera  columba  is  another  synonym  for  this 
plant  proposed  by  Baillon  (33),  (Nat.  Hist,  of  Plants, 
Vol.  Ill,  London,  1874).  This  record  condenses  much 
of  a  study  contributed  by  Dr.  Sigmund  Waldbott  and 
the  present  writer,  to  the  Western  Druggist,  Chicago, 
1898. 

CAMBOGIA  or  GAMBOGIA 

(Gamboge,  Pipe  Gamboge)    , 

Mentioned  in  all  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeias,  from  1820  to  1910. 
The  early  editions  used  the  spelling  (rambogia,  with  the  exception 
of  the  New  York  edition  of  1830,  which  uses  Cambogia.  Begin- 
ning with  1880,  the  later  Pharmacopeias  all  spell  the  name  Cam- 
bogia. 

Gamboge  is  the  product  of  a  Siamese  tree,  Garcinia 
Hanburii,  from  Camboja,  from  whence  it  derives  its 
name.  Chinese  travelers  over  a  thousand  years  ago 
mentioned  it,  describing  the  method  of  obtaining  it  by 
an  incision  in  the  stem  of  the  tree,  whilst  the  Chinese 
herbal  "Pun  tsao"  includes  it  in  its  pages.  The  Chinese, 
however,  regarded  the  drug  as  poisonous,  its  use  by 
them  being  chiefly  as  a  pigment.  Clusius  (153)  de- 
scribed in  1605  a  specimen  of  gamboge  brought  from 
China  in  1603,  after  which  the  drug  drifted  into  Eu- 
ropean medicine  as  a  purgative.  It  was  one  of  the  arti- 
cles of  commerce  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  in 
the  shops  of  the  city  of  Frankfort  it  was  recognized 
pharmaceutically  as  early  as  1612.  The  date  of  the 
introduction  of  gamboge  into  Chinese  art  and  medicine 
antedates  the  records  of  established  history. 


CAMPHORA  39 

CAMPHORA  (Camphor) 
Recorded  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia,   1820-1910. 

Camphor  (from  Cinnamomum  Camphora)  has  been 
made  in  China  since  the  earliest  record.  Marco  Polo 
(518),  who  visited  that  country  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, saw  many  of  the  trees  producing  it.  Camphor 
was  known  to  the  Chinese  writers  of  the  sixth  century, 
as  well  as  were  the  qualities  of  the  tree  as  a  valuable 
timber.  The  earliest  mention  of  camphor  occurs  in 
one  of  the  most  ancient  poems  of  the  Arabic  language, 
by  Imru-1-Kais,  who  lived  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century.  That  camphor  was  well  known  to  Arabian 
writers,  is  shown  by  the  following  sentence  from  Bur- 
ton's Translation  of  the  Arabian  Nights: 

"I  am  kinsman  to  King  Hassum,  Lord  of  the  Land  of 
Camphor;  and  when  his  ships  shall  make  fast  to  the 
shore." 

The  exaggeration  of  this  island's  camphor  value  is 
shown  by  the  following: 

"On  the  morrow  we  set  out  and  journeyed  over  the 
mighty  range  of  mountains,  seeing  many  serpents  in 
the  valley,  till  we  came  to  a  fair  great  island,  wherein 
was  a  garden  of  huge  camphor  trees."  1  Sindbad  the 
Sailor,  Vol.  XI:  p.  20. 

That  camphor  was  highly  valued  by  the  Arabians  is 
shown  by  the  following  sentence,  in  which  mention  is 
made  of  it  as  the  only  material  linked  with  ambergris: 

"...  each  holding  in  hand  a  huge  cierge  scented  with 
camphor  and  ambergris  and  set  in  a  candlestick  of  gem- 
studded  gold."  Alcedin  and  the  Wonderful  Lamp, 
Vol.  XIII:  p.  147. 

1  In  a  footnote  Burton  says,"  Sindbad  correctly  describes  the  primitive  way  of  extracting 
camphor,  a  drug  unknown  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  introduced  by  the  Arabs." 


40  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  camphor  was  considered 
by  the  Oriental  nations  as  a  rare  and  precious  perfume, 
being  mentioned  in  connection  with  musk,  ambergris, 
and  sandalwood  as  treasures  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty 
of  the  kings  of  Persia,  it  did  not,  so  far  as  has  been  de- 
termined, reach  Europe  during  the  classical  days  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  It  was  probably  first  mentioned  as 
a  European  medicine  by  the  Abbatissa  Hildegarde 
(316),  in  the  12th  century.  Since  its  introduction  into 
Europe,  it  has  always  been  held  in  high  esteem  in  do- 
mestic medication,  and  as  a  perfume  constituent. 

CANNABIS  INDICA  (Cannabis,  Indian  Hemp) 

First  mentioned  in  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1870,  two  varieties  being 
described,  named  according  to  their  origin,  Cannabis  Americana 
and  Cannabis  Indica.  The  1880  edition  continues  this  classifica- 
tion. Later  editions  drop  the  American  variety,  confining  the 
drug  to  the  Asiatic  plant,  until  the  edition  of  1910,  which  makes  no 
distinction  between  Cannabis  saliva  (American  Hemp)  and  Can- 
nabis Indica,  mentioning  the  latter  as  a  "variety." 

Cannabis  saliva,  Linne,  (or  the  variety  indica,  La- 
marck), is  an  Oriental  product  whose  beginnings  are 
lost.  Both  Waring  and  Dymock  state  that  cannabis 
is  native  to  Persia  and  cultivated  in  India.  Its  history, 
as  given  by  Dyrnock's  Pharmacographia  Indica,  is.  so 
instructively  interesting,  as  to  lead  us  to  give  a  por- 
tion, verbatim: 

"The  hemp  plant,  in  Sanskrit  Bhanga  and  Indra- 
sana,  'Indra's  hemp/  has  been  known  in  the  East  as  a 
fibre  plant  from  prehistoric  times.  It  is  mentioned 
along  with  the  Vedic  plant  Janjida,  which  has  magic 
and  medicinal  properties,  and  is  described  in  the  Atha- 
vaveda  as  a  protector,  and  is  supplicated  to  protect  all 
animals  and  properties.  The  gods  are  said  to  have  three 
times  created  this  herb  (oshadhi).  Indra  has  given  it  a 


CANNABIS  INDICA  41 

thousand  eyes,  and  conferred  on  it  the  property  of  driv- 
ing away  all  disease  and  killing  all  monsters;  it  is  praised 
as  the  best  of  remedies,  and  is  worn  as  a  precious  talis- 
man; along  with  hemp,  it  prevents  wandering  fever  and 
the  evil  eye." 

The  name  of  cannabis,  together  with  its  product, 
hashish  or  bhang,  threads  the  literature  of  both  Arabia 
and  India,  it  being  continually  mentioned  throughout 
the  Arabian  Nights,  for  example: 

"Going  up  to  Gharib,  he  blew  the  powdered  bhang 
into  his  nostrils,  till  he  lost  his  senses."  Burton's  Ara- 
bian Nights,  History  of  Gharib  and  his  Brother,  Vol.  VII. 

Interest  in  connection  with  Oriental  names  applied 
to  cannabis  and  its  products,  leads  us  to  record  the 
terms  cited  in  the  Arabian  Nights,  and  to  attempt, 
(perhaps  unsuccessfully),  to  differentiate  between  the 
drug  cannabis  and  its  products,  as  therein  given.1 

Bhang.  Burton  designates  this  as  "The  Arab  Banj 
and  the  Hindu  Bhang."  He  says,  "The  use  of  Bhang 
doubtless  dates  from  the  dawn  of  civilization,  since  the 
earliest  social  pleasures  would  be  of  an  inebriating 
character."  Herodotus  (IV:  C.  75),  shows  the  Scyth- 
ians burning  the  leaves  and  capsules  in  worship,  and 
becoming  drunken  with  the  fumes.  Galen  also  men- 
tions intoxication  by  hemp.  The  name  bhang  is  used 
most  frequently  in  reference  to  the  drug  cannabis,  but 
it  is  applied  also  to  its  products.  Says  Burton,  (Vol.  X: 
p.  165),  "The  poorer  classes  were  compelled  to  puff 
their  Kayf  (Bhang,  Cannabis  indica)  and  sip  their  black 
coffee  under  a  rainy  sky."  That  this  smoking  of  canna- 
bis was  very  widely  disseminated  is  shown  in  Vol.  X: 

'  '  That  many  extravagant  statements  aside  from  thought  creations  are  embodied  in  these 
wonderful  tales  all  will  admit.  That  they  are  based  on  the  habits  and  histories  of  the  Ara- 
bians few  will  deny.  That  in  such  as  cannabis  and  other  Oriental  products,  Burton  can  not 
be  neglected,  the  writer  of  this  history  of  drugs  accepts. 


42  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

p.  91,  as  follows:  "The  Bushmen  and  other  wild  tribes 
of  Southern  Africa  threw  their  Dakha  (Cannabis  in- 
dica),  on  the  fire  and  sat  round  it  inhaling  the  intoxi- 
cating fumes."  In  the  "Story  of  the  Three  Sharpers," 
(Vol.  V:  p.  19),  the  term  bast  appears  as  a  prep- 
aration of  bhang:  "they  would  also  expend  two  Nusfs 
(half  a  franc)  upon  Bast,  which  is  Bhang."  The 
term  flying  bhang  refers  to  the  best  quality,  "which 
flows  fastest  to  the  brain."  For  example,  "Lastly  she 
brought  to  them  coffee  which  they  drank,  but  hardly 
had  it  settled  in  their  maws  when  the  Forty  Thieves 
fell  to  the  ground,  for  she  had  mixed  up  with  it  flying 
Bhang,  and  those  who  had  drunk  thereof  became  like 
dead  men."  History  of  the  Lovers  of  Syria,  (not  Ala 
Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves).  Vol.  VI:  p.  26. 

The  most  artful  bhang  mixture  was  probably  "Con- 
centrated Bhang  mixed  with  Opium,  a  drachm  whereof 
would  overthrow  an  elephant." 

"Hardly  had  it  settled  well  in  his  stomach  when  his 
head  f arwent  his  feet  and  he  was  as  though  he  had  been 
a  year  asleep." 

Levigated  bhang.  This  term  probably  refers  to"  the 
smoke. 

"He  found  King  Toland  asleep  unattended;  so  he 
crept  up  and  made  him  smell  and  sniff  levigated  Bhang 
and  he  became  as  one  dead."  Vol.  VII:  p.  31. 

"Calling  up  a  Marid  by  name  Zu'azi'a  gave  him  a 
drachm  of  levigated  Bhang  and  said  to  him,  'Enter  King 
Gharib's  tent,  put  the  Bhang  up  his  nostrils  and  bring 
him  to  me.'  "  Vol.  VII:  p.  76. 

Cretan  bhang.     This  term  occurs,  as  follows: 

"Then  the  Caliph  crowned  a  cup  and  put  therein  a 
piece  of  Cretan  Bhang.  .  .  .  Hardly  had  it  settled  in  his 


CANNABIS  INDICA  43 

stomach  when  his  head  forewent  his  heels  and  he  fell  to 
the  ground." 

Bhang  Antidotes.  In  a  footnote  Burton  says,  "As 
has  been  seen,  acids  have  ever  been  and  are  still  ad- 
ministered as  counter  inebrants,  while  hot  spices  and 
sweets  greatly  increase  the  effect  of  Bhang,  Opium, 
Henbane,  Datura,  etc."  This  is  illustrated  as  fol- 
lows: 

"So  he  made  him  smell  vinegar  and  frankincense." 
Vol.  XI:  p.  9. 

"So  they  made  him  sniff  vinegar,  and  he  came  to 
himself."  Vol.  XI:  p.  5. 

Hashish.  This  term  is  used  with  many  meanings, 
but  it  seems  by  Burton  to  be  applied  (but  not  restricted) 
to  a  form  of  cannabis  taken  or  used  voluntarily,  as  for 
example,  "Another  man,  a  Hashish-eater."  Possibly 
no  better  formula  for  the  making  of  Hashish  or  de- 
scription of  its  effects  can  be  found,  than  that  given  on 
the  several  pages  of  the  "Tale  of  the  Kazi  and  the 
Bhang  Eater,"  (Vol.  XV:  pp.  194-241).  From  this  we 
extract  a  few  sentences  that  apply: 

"Furthermore  I  conceive  that  the  twain  are  eaters  of 
Hashish,  which  drug  when  swallowed  by  man,  garreth 
(maketh)  him  prattle  of  whatso  he  pleaseth  and  choseth, 
making  him  now  a  Sultan,  then  a  Wazir,  and  then  a  mer- 
chant, the  while  it  seemeth  to  him  that  the  world  is  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand." 

"Quoth  the  Sultan,  'And  what  may  be  thy  descrip- 
tion of  Hashish?'  Replied  the  Wazir. 

(Hashish  Formula)  "  'Tis  composed  of  hemp  leaflets 
whereto  are  added  aromatic  roots  and  somewhat  of 
sugar;  then  they  cook  it  and  prepare  a  kind  of  con- 
fection which  they  eat,  but  who  so  eateth  it,  (especially 


44  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

if  he  eat  iriore  than  enough),  talketh  of  matters  which 
reason  may  on  no  wise  represent." 

Kayf.  The  sensation  is  delightful.  Sonnini  says: 
"The  Arabs  give  the  name  Kayf  to  the  voluptuous 
relaxation,  the  delicious  stupor  produced  by  smoking  of 
hemp."  Burton  says,  "I  have  smoked  it  and  eaten  it 
for  months  without  other  effect  than  a  greatly  increased 
appetite  and  a  little  drowsiness."  Footnote,  Vol.  XV. 
p.  196. 

Ganjah  or  Gunjah.  This  term,  prominent  in  East 
Indian  lore,  is  not  found  in  Burton's  Arabian  trans- 
lations, but  it  appears  frequently  in  Dymock's  Pharma- 
cographia  Indica,  from  which  we  extract  as  follows, 
pp.  320-322: 

"The  intoxicating  properties  which  the  plant  pos- 
sesses in  its  Eastern  home  appear  not  to  have  been  dis- 
covered until  a  more  recent  date,  but  in  the  fifth  chapter 
of  Menu,  Brahmins  are  prohibited  from  using  it,  and  in 
the  sacred  books  of  the  Parsis  the  use  of  Bana  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  abortion  is  forbidden.  In  Hindu 
mythology  the  hemp  plant  is  said  to  have  sprung  from 
the  amrita  produced  whilst  the  gods  were  churning  the 
ocean  with  Mount  Mandara.  It  is  called  in  Sanskrit 
Vijaya,  'giving  success,'  and  the  favorite  drink  of 
Indra  is  said  to  be  prepared  from  it.  On  festive  oc- 
casions, in  most  parts  of  India,  large  quantities  are  con- 
sumed by  almost  all  classes  of  Hindus.  The  Brahmins 
sell  Sherbet  prepared  with  Bhang  at  the  temples,  and 
religious  mendicants  collect  together  and  smoke  Ganja. 
Shops  for  the  sale  of  preparations  of  hemp  are  to  be 
found  in  every  town,  and  are  much  resorted  to  by  the 
idle  and  vicious.  Hemp  is  also  used  medicinally;  in 
the  Raja  Nirghanta  its  synonyms  are  names  which  mean 


CANNABIS  INDICA  45 

'promoter  of  success/  'the  cause  of  a  reeling  gait,' 
'the  laughter  moving/  etc. 

"The  seductive  influences  of  hemp  have  led  to  the 
most  extravagant  praise  of  the  drug  in  the  popular 
languages  of  India,  but  in  truth  it  is  one  of  the  curses 
of  the  country;  if  its  use  is  persisted  in,  it  leads  to  in- 
digestion, wasting  of  the  body,  cough,  melancholy,  im- 
potence and  dropsy.  After  a  tune  its  votary  becomes 
an  outcast  from  society,  and  his  career  terminates  in 
crime,  insanity  and  idiocy. 

"  'Who  ganja  smoke  do  knowledge  lack,  the  heart  burns  con- 
stantly, 

The  breath  with  coughing  goes,  the  face  as  monkey's  pale  you 
see.'  — Fallon. 

"According  to  tradition,  the  use  of  hemp  as  an  in- 
toxicant was  first  made  known  in  Persia  by  Birarslan, 
an  Indian  pilgrim,  in  the  reign  of  Khusru  the  First 
(A.  D.  531-579),  but  as  we  have  already  stated,  its  in- 
jurious properties  appear  to  have  been  known  long 
before  that  date. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  use  of  hemp  as  an 
intoxicant  was  encouraged  by  the  Ismailians  in  the  8th 
century,  as  its  effects  tended  to  assist  their  followers  in 
realizing  the  tenets  of  the  sect: 

"  'We've  quaffed  the  emerald  cup,  the  mystery  we  know, 
Who'd  dream  so  weak  a  plant  such  mighty  power  could  show!' 

"Hasan  Sabah,  their  celebrated  chief,  in  the  llth 
century,  notoriously  made  use  of  it  to  urge  them  on  to 
the  commission  of  deeds  of  daring  and  violence  so  that 
they  became  known  as  the  Hashshashin  or  'Assassins.' 
Hasan  studied  the  tenets  of  his  sect  in  retirement  at 
Nishapur,  doubtless  at  the  monastery  noticed  by 


46  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

O'Shaughnessy  (Bengal  Dispensatory),  in  the  following 
terms:  'Haidar  lived  in  rigid  privation  on  a  mountain 
between  Nishapur  and  Rama,  where  he  established  a 
monastery;  after  having  lived  ten  years  in  this  retreat, 
he  one  day  returned  from  a  stroll  in  the  neighborhood 
with  an  air  of  joy  and  gaiety;  on  being  questioned,  he 
stated  that,  struck  by  the  appearance  of  a  plant,  he  had 
gathered  and  eaten  its  leaves.  He  then  led  his  compan- 
ions to  the  spot,  and  all  ate  and  were  similarly  excited. 
A  tincture  of  the  hemp  leaf  in  wine  or  spirit  seems  to 
have  been  the  favorite  formula  in  which  Sheikh  Haidar 
indulged  himself.  An  Arab  poet  sings  of  Haidar's 
emerald  cup,  an  evident  allusion  to  the  rich  green  color 
of  the  tincture.  The  Sheik  survived  the  discovery  ten 
years,  and  subsisted  chiefly  on  this  herb,  and  on  his 
death  his  disciples  at  his  desire  planted  it  in  an  arbor 
round  his  tomb.  From  this  saintly  sepulchre  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  effects  of  hemp  is  stated  to  have  spread  into 
Khorasan.  In  Chaldea  it  was  unknown  until  728  A.  D., 
the  kings  of  Ormus  and  Bahrein  then  introduced  it  into 
Chaldea,  Syria,  Egypt  and  Turkey. 

"  'The  Greeks  were  acquainted  with  hemp  more  than 
2000  years  ago;  Herodotus  mentions  it  as  being  culti- 
vated by  the  Scythians,  who  used  its  fibre  for  making 
their  garments,  and  the  seeds  to  medicate  vapour 
baths.' " 

Imported  into  Europe  preceding  1690,  cannabis 
passed  into  disuse  until  Napoleon's  expedition  to  Egypt 
(1809-10),  when  it  was  again  revived  by  De  Sacy 
and  Bouger.  Waring's  Pharmacopeia  of  India  states 
that  the  "fullest  account  of  the  history  and  physio- 
logical effects  of  Indian  Hemp  is  furnished  by  Sir  W. 
O'Shaughnessy's  Bengal  Dispensatory,  pp.  579-604. 


CANTHARIS  47 

Its  introduction  into  European  medicine  (1838-39), 
followed  the  experiments  of  O'Shaughnessy  (484)  in 
Calcutta,  and  since  that  time  cannabis  and  its  resin 
have  received  a  place  in  most  Pharmacopeias.  From 
the  beginning  of  East  Indian  history,  hemp  has  been 
smoked  as  a  narcotic  intoxicant,  and  when  surrep- 
titiously added  to  sweetmeats  and  foods,  it  has,  in 
Oriental  life,  been  employed  as  a  narcotic  with  the  ut- 
most recklessness.  This  is  shown  in  the  exaggerations 
of  the  Arabian  Nights,  which  portrays  so  many  life 
habits  of  those  times.  The  writer  of  these  studies  (1906) 
found  hashish  of  several  qualities  both  in  the  bazaars 
of  Asia  Minor  and  Constantinople,  one  specimen  "extra 
fine  hashish"  costing  him,  in  a  Constantinople  bazaar, 
over  two  dollars  (gold)  an  ounce. 

CANTHARIS  (CANTHARIDES)  (Spanish  Flies) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Spanish  Flies  (Cantharis  vesicatoria) .  This  once 
popular  remedial  agent  has  lost  its  position  in  modern 
medication.  Its  use  came  hand  in  hand  with  medical 
cruelty,  and  was  an  heirloom  of  ancient  heroic  medi- 
cation. Hippocrates  (B.  C.  375-400)  valued  can- 
tharides  in  dropsy  and  also  in  amenorrhea,  and  it  goes 
without  question  that  a  substance  so  heroic  in  its  action 
would  once  have  been  popular  in  both  domestic  and 
professional  American  medication.  Its  use  in  erysipelas 
and  as  a  plaster,  and  to  "draw  the  nervous  energy  and 
the  circulating  fluid"  to  the  surface,  and  "thus  again 
relieve  irritation  and  inflammation  of  internal  parts," 
are  relics  of  comparatively  recent  American  medical 
literature,  writers  in  good  reputation  commending  it 
highly.  At  present,  however,  cantharis  is  in  such  dis- 


48  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

favor  as  to  make  it  a  novelty  for  a  cantharis  plaster  to 
be  prescribed  by  a  modern  physician.  The  change 
from  extreme  popularity  to  practical  disuse  has  come 
within  the  experience  of  this  writer. 

CAPSICUM  (Cayenne  Pepper) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820  to  1910. 

This  drug,  Capsicum  frutescens,  is  of  American  origin, 
its  home  being  in  the  West  Indies,  Mexico,  and  other 
tropical  countries  of  America,  where,  at  the  tune  of  the 
discovery  of  America,  it  was  used  by  every  one  as  a 
desirable  pepper  in  preparing  food.  In  domestic  Ameri- 
can medicine,  capsicum  has  ever  been  an  important 
remedy,  and  was  a  very  prominent  drug  in  the  Thom- 
sonian  school  (638)  of  American  medicine.  Capsicum 
was  the  principal  ingredient  of  the  famous  "Number  6" 
of  Samuel  Thomson,  and  thence  was  made  official  in 
the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia  as  Compound  Tincture  of 
Capsicum  and  Myrrh.  It  is  now  a  member  of  most 
materia  medicas  throughout  the  world.  By  far  the 
largest  amount  of  capsicum  is,  however,  consumed  in 
culinary  directions. 

CARDAMOMUM  (Cardamom) 
Official  in  all  the  Pharmacopeias,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Cardamamum,  (Elettaria  Cardamomum),  has  been 
used  from  a  remote  period,  being  mentioned  in  the 
writings  of  Susruta  (622).  It  appears  in  the  list  of 
Indian  spices  liable  to  duty  in  Alexandria,  A.  D.  176- 
180.  The  Portuguese  navigator  Barbosa  (39)  first 
definitely  describes  its  origin  as  a  product  of  the  Mala- 
bar Coast.  Since  its  introduction  from  the  Orient, 
cardamom  has  been  used,  as  it  has  been  in  its  home 


CARUM  49 

from  all  time,  as  a  flavor  and  a  stomachic.  Several 
forms  of  cardamom  are  found  in  the  bazaars  of  Turkey 
and  Arabia,  where  it  is  brought  by  means  of  caravans. 
It  is  largely  cultivated  at  the  present  time  as  an  article 
of  commerce.  This  writer  found  (1906)  "large"  carda- 
mom seeds  strung  on  strings  and  sold  by  count  in  bazaars 
in  Smyrna  and  elsewhere  in  Asia  Minor. 

CARUM  (Caraway,  Caraway  Seed) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Although  the  home  of  caraway  (Carum  Cam')  appears 
to  have  been  in  the  northern  and  midland  parts  of  Eu- 
rope and  Asia,  it  was  known  to  the  Arabians,  and  at  an 
early  date  was  introduced  into  England.  In  German 
domestic  medicine  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies the  word  cumich  occurs,  which  is  still  the  popular 
name  for  caraway  in  Southern  Germany.  At  the  close 
of  the  fourteenth  century  caraway  was  much  used  in 
England,  where  it  was  largely  employed  in  cooking.  It 
was  not  used  in  India  in  either  cooking  or  medicine, 
nor  does  it  appear  in  the  record  of  the  early  days  to 
have  been  included  among  Indian  spices.  It  has  a  do- 
mestic reach  that  dominates  its  use  everywhere. 

The  admirable  history  of  caraway,  in  the  Pharmaco- 
graphia  of  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury,  is  so  complete  and 
yet  so  condensed  as  to  lead  us  to  introduce  it,  ver- 
batim, as  follows  (240) : 

"HISTORY. — The  opinion  that  this  plant  is  theKaros 
of  Dioscorides,  and  that,  as  Pliny  states,  it  derived  its 
name  from  Caria,  (where  it  has  never  been  met  with  in 
modern  tunes),  has  very  reasonably  been  doubted. 

"Caraway  fruits  were  known  to  the  Arabians,  who 
called  them  Karawya,  a  name  they  still  bear  in  the 


50  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

East,  and  the  original  of  our  words  caraway  and  carui, 
as  well  as  of  the  Spanish  alcarahueya.  In  the  descrip- 
tion of  Morocco  by  Edrisi,  12th  century,  it  is  stated 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Sidjilmasa  (in  the  southeastern 
province),  cultivate  cotton,  cumin,  Caraway,  henna 
(Lawsonia  alba,  Lamarck).  In  the  13th  century,  cara- 
way is  compared  to  cumin  and  anise.  The  spice  prob- 
ably came  into  use  about  this  period.  It  is  not  noticed 
by  St.  Isidore,  archbishop  of  Seville  in  the  7th  century, 
though  he  mentions  fennel,  dill,  coriander,  anise,  and 
parsley;  nor  is  it  named  by  St.  Hildegard  in  Germany 
in  the  12th  century.  Neither  have  we  found  any  refer- 
ence to  it  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Herbarium  of  Apuleius, 
written  circa  A.  D.  1050,  or  in  other  works  of  the  same 
period,  though  cumin,  anise,  fennel  and  dill  are  all 
mentioned. 

"On  the  other  hand,  in  two  German  medicine-books 
of  the  12th  and  13th  centuries,  there  occurs  the  word 
Cumich,  which  is  still  the  popular  name  of  caraway  in 
Southern  Germany;  and  Cumin  is  also  mentioned.  In 
the  same  period  the  seeds  appear  to  have  been  used  by 
the  Welsh  physicians  of  Myddvai.  Caraway  was  cer- 
tainly in  use  in  England  at  the  close  of  the  14th  century, 
as  it  figures  with  coriander,  pepper  and  garlick  in  the 
Form  of  Cury,  a  roll  of  ancient  English  cookery  compiled 
by  the  master-cooks  of  Richard  II  about  A.  D.  1390. 

"The  oriental  names  of  caraway  show  that  as  a  spice 
it  is  not  a  production  of  the  East: — thus  we  find  it 
termed  Roman  (i.  e.  European),  Armenian,  mountain, 
or  foreign  Cumin;  Persian  or  Andalusian  Caraway;  or 
foreign  Anise.  And  though  it  is  now  sold  in  the  Indian 
bazaars,  its  name  does  not  occur  in  the  earlier  lists  of 
Indian  spices." 


CARYOPHYLLUS  51 

CARYOPHYLLUS  (Clove) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Indigenous  to  the  Molucca  Islands  proper,  cloves 
(Eugenia  aromatica)  have  been  an  article  of  Indian  com- 
merce since  an  early  date.  Known  to  the  Chinese 
writers  of  the  Han  dynasty,  266  B.  C.  to  220  A.  D., 
cloves  became  known  to  Europe  about  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, after  which  they  became  increasingly  an  article  of 
commerce,  although,  for  a  long  time,  they  were  very 
expensive.  The  original  home  of  the  clove,  the  Moluc- 
cas or  Clove  Islands,  now  produces  no  cloves  at  all. 
Dymock,  (Pharmacographia  Indica,  Vol.  II,  p.  20), 
records  as  follows: 

"It  is  difficult  to  say  when  cloves  were  first  introduced 
into  India,  but  they  are  mentioned  by  Charaka,  who  is 
considered  to  be  the  oldest  Sanskrit  medical  writer, 
under  the  name  of  Lavanga,  a  name  which,  with  various 
modifications,  is  applied  to  cloves  all  over  India.  They 
are  regarded  by  Sanskrit  writers  as  light,  cooling, 
stomachic,  digestive  and  useful  in  thirst,  vomiting, 
flatulence,  colic,  etc.,  and  are  prescribed  with  other 
spices  and  with  rock  salt.  (Dutt's  Hindu  Materia 
Medica.)  A  paste  of  cloves  is  applied  to  the  forehead 
and  nose  as  a  remedy  for  colds.  A  clove  roasted  in  the 
flame  of  a  lamp  and  held  in  the  mouth  is  a  popular 
remedy  for  sore  throat.  The  early  Arabian  writers  call 
them  Karanfal,  a  name  evidently  derived  from  the 
Indian  language  of  the  Malabar  Coast,  Ceylon,  and 
the  Straits." 

The  aromatic  nature  of  cloves  made  of  them  a  great 
favorite,  and  they  were  therefore  used  to  perfume  the 
breath  and  to  flavor  food,  as  well  as  being  employed  in 
domestic  medicines,  such  as  stomachic  cordials.  The 


52  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

well-known  Blackberry  Cordial  of  Kentucky  is  largely 
spiced  with  cloves  and  cinnamon,  its  blackberry  part 
being  the  juice  of  the  ripe  berries,  its  alcoholic  part, 
whisky. 

CASSIA  FISTULA  (Purging  Cassia) 

Dropped  from  the  1910  Pharmacopeia.  Not  mentioned  in 
the  New  York  edition  of  the  1830  U.  S.  P.  Official  in  all  other 
editions. 

Galen  (254a)  mentions  a  cheap  cassia  called  fistula, 
but  seemingly  he  refers  not  to  this  drug,  but  to  a  coarse 
cinnamon,  rolled  up  as  a  tube.  The  fruit  now  known 
as  Cassia  Fistula  was  noticed  by  Joannes  Actuarius  (4), 
of  Constantinople,  who  minutely  describes  it,  during 
the  13th  century.  Cassia  is  also  mentioned  by  writers 
of  the  school  of  Salernum.  It  was  a  familiar  domestic 
remedy  in  England  at  the  time  of  Turner  (656),  1568, 
and  as  it  is  cathartic,  it  naturally  appealed  to  heroic 
medicationists.  Although  carried  in  the  Pharmacopeia, 
it  has  never  been  much  used  in  American  medicine. 


CHIMAPHILA  (Chimaphila,  Pipsissewa) 

Mentioned  first  in  the  1830  Pharmacopeia  (Philadelphia). 
Not  mentioned  in  the  1830  edition,  New  York.  Dropped  from  the 
1910  edition.  Official  in  all  other  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P. 

Pipsissewa,  Chimaphila  umbellata,  is  a  creeping,  ever- 
green vine  native  to  northern  latitudes  of  Europe  and 
Asia.  It  is  found  also  in  the  United  States  in  shady 
woods,  where  it  prefers  loose,  sandy  soil.  The  Indians 
of  North  America  considered  chimaphila  of  importance, 
and  used  decoctions  of  it  in  nephritis,  scrofulous  and 
rheumatic  disorders.  Mitchell  (441),  in  his  Inaugural 
Address,  1803,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  gave  chima- 
phila particular  attention,  whilst  in  domestic  medicine 
it  was  in  favor  as  a  tea,  in  the  sections  of  country  where 


CHONDRUS  53 

it  was  native,  its  use  being  especially  in  the  direction  of 
rheumatic  and  nephritic  affections. 

CHIRATA  (Chirata) 

First  mentioned  in  U.  S.  P.  in  1860.  The  name  here,  and  in 
1870,  is  spelled  Chiretta.  Official  in  1880,  1890  (as  Swertia  Chiray- 
tto)  and  1900.  Dropped  in  1910. 

An  annual  herb  of  the  mountainous  regions  of  North- 
ern India,  chirata  (Swertia  Chirayita)  has  long  been  held 
in  esteem  by  the  Hindoos,  being  frequently  mentioned 
by  Susruta  (622).  It  did  not  attract  attention  in  Eng- 
land until  1829,  and  was  introduced  into  the  Edinburgh 
Pharmacopeia  in  1839.  It  was  first  described  by  Rox- 
burgh (559)  in  1814.  No  record  of  its  introduction  into 
Indian  medicine  nor  to  its  original  usage  is  possible, 
other  than  that  it  is  a  gift  of  native  medication  and  is 
described  in  Sanskrit  writings. 

CHONDRUS- (Irish  Moss) 

First  mentioned  (in  Secondary  List)  in  1840.  Transferred  to 
Primary  List  in  1850.  Official  in  all  subsequent  editions,  includ- 
ing 1910,  in  which  two  species  are  named  as  official,  Chondrus 
crispus  and  Gigartina  mamillosa. 

Irish  moss,  Chondrus  crispus,  has  been  known  from 
an  early  period,  its  use  being  chiefly  as  a  domestic  medi- 
cine. Neither  the  London  nor  the  British  Pharmaco- 
peia ever  gave  it  a  position.  Todhunter  at  Dublin, 
1831,  introduced  it  to  the  notice  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession. The  method  of  its  employment  is  yet  in  de- 
coction or  infusion,  no  attempt  being  made  to  improve 
upon  the  method  employed  in  its  domestic  use. 


54  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

CHRYSAROBINUM  (Chrysarobin) 

Mentioned  first  in  1880.  Official  in  all  editions  folbwing. 
The  U.  S.  P.  of  1910  mentions  "a  substance  deposited  in  the 
wood  of  Vouacapoua  Araroba"  as  the  official  source  of  Chrysa- 
robin. 

This  substance,  formerly  supposed  to  be  identical 
with  crude  chrysophanic  acid,  is  derived  from  Goa 
Powder,  a  deposit  found  in  the  cavities  of  the  trunk  of 
the  Andira  Araroba,  a  South  American  tree.  It  is  used 
in  skin  diseases  in  the  same  manner  as  the  crude  Goa 
powder,  from  which  it  is  simply  a  mechanically  sepa- 
rated material.  Goa  powder  was  employed  in  native 
medication  as  a  remedy  in  skin  diseases,  which  brought 
it  to  the  attention  of  physicians,  and  led  to  its  intro- 
duction into  medicine,  as  well  as  to  its  final  insertion  in 
the  Pharmacopeia. 

CIMICIFUGA  (MACROTYS) 

(Black  Snakeroot,  "Black  Cohosh") 

While  named  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  it  was,  in  the 
early  editions,  found  in  the  Secondary  List  only.  In  the  edition 
of  1840  it  was  promoted  to  the  Primary  List,  ard  since  that  date 
it  has  been  wholly  official.  According  to  the  edition,  its  nomen- 
clature varies.  In  1820  and  1828,  the  name  CimicifugaSerpentaria 
is  official.  In  the  Philadelphia  edition  of  1830,  C.  Serpentaria  and 
C.  racemosa  are  named,  while  the  New  York  edition  of  1830  makes 
official  C.  SerpeVttaria  and  Actcea  racemosa.  The  1840  and  all 
succeeding  editions,  including  that  of  1910,  recognize  C.  racemosa 
alone,  but  base  their  authority  upon  different  botanists,  the  edi- 
tions of  1840,  1850  and  1860  naming  Torrey  and  Gray,  those  of 
1870  and  1880  Elliott,  while  all  later  editions  name  (Linne") 
Nuttall. 

Cimicifuga,  (Macrotys),  is  abundantly  distributed 
in  rich  woodlands  over  the  greater  portion  of 
the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
except  in  New  England  and  the  extreme  South.  It 
is  also  found  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  Because  of 
the  color  of  the  root  and  its  reputed  use  in  snake-bite, 


CIMICIFUGA  55 

it  was  commonly  known  to  the  early  settlers  as  black 
snakeroot.  Other  names  commonly  applied  to  it  were 
"black  cohosh," 1  rattle  weed,  rattle  root  and 
rattle  snakeroot,  so  named  because  the  dried 
spikes  carrying  the  seed  rattle  in  the  wind.  These 
last  terms  are  sometimes  corrupted  into  rattlesnake 
root  and  blacksnake  root.  Because  of  its  employ- 
ment in  female  ailments  by  the  Indians,  the  name 
"squawroot"  was  also  given  this  plant,  but  this  term 
was  more  extensively  employed  with  reference  to  Caulo- 
phyllum  thalictroides,  or  blue  "cohosh,"  the  majority 
of  writers  giving  the  preference  to  that  drug.  The  name 
cimicifuga  suggested  the  common  names  "bugwort" 
and  "bugbane,"  but  while  these  were  applicable  to  the 
various  European  species,  that  were  used  to  drive  away 
insects,  they  were,  so  far  as  we  know,  misapplied  in  the 
direction  of  the  American  species.  Still  another  com- 
mon name  was  richweed,  given  by  Gronovius,  1752, 
because  the  plant  frequents  rich  woodlands.  But  the 
name  "richweed"  is  now  given  by  botanists  to  Pilea 
pumila,  a  very  different  plant. 

Macrotys  was  observed  by  the  earliest  European 
travelers  in  America,  being  first  described  by  Plukenet 
in  1705.  That  writer,  who  lived  when  new  plants  were 
pouring  into  England  from  this  country,  and  whose 
publications  were  rich  in  descriptions  of  American 
plants,  classed  cimicifuga  with  the  Actcea  spicata  of 
Europe,  using  the  old  generic  name  "Christophoriana 
Canadensis  racemosa."  His  inaccurate,  but  yet  suffi- 
cient, drawing  establishes  the  plant's  identity.  His 
specimen  is  preserved  in  his  herbarium  in  the  British 

1  The  name  "  cohosh, "  an  Indian  term  of  uncertain  meaning,  was  given  to  four  widely 
different  American  plants,  namely,  macrotys  or  "black  cohosh,"  Actsea  alba  or 
"white  cohosh,"  Actsea  spicata  or  "red  cohosh,"  and  CaulophyUum  thalictroides, 
or  "blue  cohosh." 


56  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Museum.  Following  Plukenet,  other  pre-Linnaean 
writers  classed  the  plant  with  Actcea,  mostly  under 
Tournefort's  name,  Christophoriana.  Linnaeus  gave  it 
the  name  Actcea  racemosa,  under  which  it  was  classed 
until  Pursh  referred  it  to  the  genus  Cimidfuga.  Rafi- 
nesque,  1808,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  fruit  does 
not  accord  with  that  of  either  actsea  or  cimicif  uga,  pro- 
posed the  name  Macrotrys  actceoides,  changing  the  name 
in  1828  to  Botrophis  Serpentaria.  Eaton,  in  the  fourth 
edition  of  his  Manual,  followed  Rafinesque,  but  perpet- 
uating the  error  of  De  Candolle,  who  preceded  Eaton, 
he  incorrectly  spelled  the  name,  calling  the  plant  Ma- 
crotys  Serpentaria,  the  latter  being  Pursh's  specific  name. 
The  following  botanical  history  by  C.  G.  Lloyd,  from 
Drugs  and  Medicines  of  North  America,  is  of  such  inter- 
est as  to  lead  to  its  reproduction,  verbatim: 

"Cimicif uga  is  a  very  conspicuous  and  showy  plant 
when  in  bloom,  and  hence  was  noticed  by  the  earliest 
travelers  in  America  and  carried  to  the  botanical  gardens 
of  Europe  early  in  the  18th  century.  It  was  first  de- 
scribed by  Plukenet,  and  rudely  figured  in  his  Amal- 
theum  Botanicum,  1705.  Several  other  pre-Linnsean 
writers  mentioned  the  plant,  all  classing  it  with  Actcea, 
mostly  under  Tournefort's  name,  Christophoriana,  and 
designating  it  with  specific  adjectives  indicating  its 
long  raceme  or  spikes. 

"When  Linnaeus  first  specifically  named  plants  in  his 
Species  Plantarum,  1753,  in  common  with  previous 
writers,  he  included  this  plant  with  Actsea,  to  which  it 
is  very  closely  allied  in  habit,  appearance,  properties, 
powers,  etc.,  and  called  it  Actcea  racemosa. 

"At  that  time,  but  two  of  the  species  now  constituting 
the  genus  Cimicifuga  were  known,  the  plant  under  con- 


CIMICIFUGA  57 

si<  eration,  and  C.  fetida  of  Eastern  Europe.  Had  Lin- 
r  Vius  made  a  genus  for  these  two,  he  would  have  had  a 
;  taus  containing  two  plants  belonging  to  entirely  dif- 

•rent  orders  of  his  artificial  system.  He  did,  in  after 
years,  separate  the  European  species  from  Actaea  under 
the  generic  name  Cimicifuga,  but  he  did  not  include 
our  plant  in  that  genus. 

"The  Linnaean  name,  Actoea  racemosa,  was  retained 
till  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  by  all  writers  ex- 
cepting Walter,  who  called  the  plant  Actoea  monogyna. 

"It  was  Pursh  who  first  referred  it  to  the  genus  Cim- 
icifuga which  Linnaeus  had  established  for  the  Euro- 
pean plant.  Michaux  had  previously  referred  to  this 
genus  our  mountainous  species  (Cimicifuga  americana), 
which  he  discovered.  Pursh,  in  addition  to  this  species, 
having  seen  our  northwestern  species,  (Cimicifuga  alata, 
that  he  considered  identical  with  the  European  species, 
Cimicifuga  fetida),  noticed  the  great  similarity  of  the 
three  plants,  and  placed  them  all  in  a  common  genus. 
The  plant  under  consideration  he  called  Cimicifuga 
Serpentaria. 

"Four  years  later,  Nuttall,  in  enumerating  the  then 
known  plants  of  the  United  States,  restored  the  old 
specific  name,  calling  it  Cimicifuga  racemosa.  In  the 
same  year,  but  after  the  publication  of  Nuttall's  work, 
(as  is  evident  from  his  mentioning  that  work),  Barton 
used  the  same  name,  evidently  taken  from  Nuttall's 
work,  but  without  giving  him  credit  for  it.  Hence  De 
Candolle  and  several  other  writers  have  incorrectly 
referred  the  authorship  to  Barton.  It  is  remarkable, 
however,  that  in  all  the  works  of  both  Torrey  and  Gray, 
and  in  most  recent  works  on  American  botany,  the 
authorship  of  the  name  has  been  credited  to  a  botanist 


58  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

(Elliott)  who  did  not  use  the  name  until  six  years  aftev 
it  was  published  by  both  Nuttall  and  Barton,  and  that 
this  same  error  should  have  been  made  in  the  last  very 
carefully  prepared  edition  of  the  United  States  Phar- 
macopeia, of  1880. 

"The  following  are  the  distinctive  characters  between 
the  two  genera,  Actsea  and  Cimicifuga,  as  established 
by  Linnaeus.  They  are  drawn  entirely  from  the  fruit, 
as  there  is  no  other  point  of  distinction. 

Actcea  Cimicifuga 

Fruit,  a  solitary,  fleshy  berry.      Fruit,  five  or  four  dry  follicles. 

"It  will  be  seen  that  Cimicifuga  racemosa  does  not 
accord  with  either  genus  as  defined  by  Linnaeus,  as  the 
fruit  is  a  dry  follicle,  but  solitary.  On  this  account 
Rafinesque  proposed  to  establish  for  it  a  new  genus, 
Macrotrys,  (from  makros,  large,  and  botrus,  a  iiunch, 
referring  to  the  large  raceme  of  fruit.  Eaton),  calling 
the  plant  Macrotrys  acto3oides.  (Medical  Repository, 
1808.) 

"There  is  really  some  structural  ground  for  Rafi- 
nesque's  genus,  because  the  plant  differs  from  all  others 
of  the  genus  Cimicifuga,  as  follows;  but  there  is,  how- 
ever, such  close  relationship  in  every  other  particular 
that  this  difference  can  not  be  considered  sufficient  for 
maintaining  the  plant  in  a  separate  genus: 

Cimicifuga  racemosa  All  Other  Species  of 

Macrotrys  Raf.  Cimicifuga 
Follicle  abrupt  at  the  base,  Follicles  five  (or  four)  flat- 
solitary,  ovoid,  seeds  smooth,  tened,  stipitate,  seed  rough 
numerous,  compressed  hori-  with  slender  projections, 
zontally. 

"In  1828  Rafinesque  changed  his  generic  name  to 
Botrophis,  calling  the  plant  Botrophis  Serpentaria.  He 


CIMICIFUGA  59 

gives  his  reasons  for  the  change  as  follows:  'The  name 
Macrotrys  is  delusive  and  harsh.  I  have  found  a  better 
one,  meaning  snake  raceme,  (from  botrus  a  bunch,  and 
ophis  a  snake),  the  raceme  or  long  spike  of  flowers  being 
mostly  crooked  and  like  a  snake.' 

"But  one  other  American  botanist  has  ever  followed 
Rafinesque's  generic  views.  Eaton,  in  the  fourth  edition 
of  his  Manual  adopted  them,  but  used  Pursh's  specific 
name,  calling  the  plant  Macrotys  Serpentaria.  In  sub- 
sequent editions  he  used  the  old  specific  name,  and 
called  it  Macrotys  racemosa. 

"Eaton  was  very  positive  regarding  the  rights  of  the 
plant  to  generic  rank.  He  spelled  the  name,  however, 
incorrectly — Macrotys  instead  of  Macrotrys,  an  error 
that  was  made  by  De  Candolle,  from  whom  no  doubt 
Eaton  took  it. 

"About  the  time  that  black  cohosh  was  beginning  to 
be  used  by  the  Eclectic  practitioners,  Eaton's  Manual 
was  the  popular  text  book  of  botany.  Hence  it  is  that 
his  name,  Macrotys  racemosa,  was  given  to  the  plant  in 
the  early  medical  works,  and  has  persistently  clung  to  it 
in  spite  of  botanical  authority,  even  to  the  present  day. 

"Forms. — Cimicifuga  racemosa  has  but  little  tendency 
towards  variation.  Specimens  from  a  number  of  widely 
distant  stations  show  a  constancy  of  character. 

"In  central  Pennsylvania,  there  exist  two  plants  dis- 
tinguished by  root  gatherers  as  the  tall  and  the  small 
snakeroots.  We  are  indebted  to  Kate  F.  Kurtz  for 
specimens  of  the  tops  and  rhizomes  of  both  plants.  A 
close  examination,  however,  shows  no  difference  except 
in  development.  The  fresh  rhizome  of  the  tall  plant  is 
much  larger  and  darker  colored,  and  the  roots  coarser. 
We  can  only  consider  this  plant  a  robust  form." 


60  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

The  name  Macrotys  is  now  so  firmly  established  inT 
Eclectic  literature  that  it  is  not  likely  to  be  displaced, 
although  in  botanical  works  as  well  as  in  the  Pharma- 
copeia the  plant  has  become  generally  known  as  Cim- 
icifuga  racemosa. 

Cimicifuga,  (Macrotys),  was  highly  valued  by  the 
Indians,  who  employed  decoctions  of  the  root  for  dis- 
eases of  women,  for  debility,  to  promote  perspiration, 
as  a  gargle  for  sore  throat,  and  especially  for  treatment 
of  rheumatism.  These  uses  by  the  Indians  introduced 
the  drug  to  students  of  early  "domestic"  American 
medicine,  and  it  was  consequently  given  much  atten- 
tion by  such  early  writers  as  Schopf,  1785,  Barton,  1801, 
Peter  Smith,  1812,  Bigelow,  1822,  Garden,  1823,  Ewell, 
1827,  Rafinesque,  1828,  and  Tonga  and  Durand's  addi- 
tion to  Edwards'  and  Vavasseur's  Materia  Medica, 
1829.  None  of  the  early  writers  added  anything  not 
already  given  by  the  Indians,  so  far  as  the  field  of 
action  of  the  drug  is  concerned,  excepting  perhaps  a 
statement  by  Howard,  (Botanic),  1832,  who  was  an 
enthusiast  in  favor  of  macrotys  in  the  treatment  of 
smallpox,  a  claim  supported  forty  years  after  by  Dr. 
G.  H.  Norris.  In  a  paper  read  before  the  Alabama 
State  Medical  Association,  1872,  he  reported  that  dur- 
ing an  epidemic  of  smallpox  in  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
families  using  macrotys  as  a  tea  were  absolutely  free 
from  smallpox,  and  that  in  these  families  vaccination 
had  no  effect  whatever  so  long  as  the  use  of  macrotys 
was  continued. l 

In  the  early  use  of  the  drug,  the  infusion  was  em- 
ployed, the  following  being  Howard's  statement  (1836) 
concerning  it: 

i  This  is  of  great  interest  and  should  be  systematically  verified. 


CIMICIFUGA  61 

s"  "Infuse  a  handful  of  the  roots  in  a  quart  of  boiling 
*  vater,  and  take  in  doses  of  a  common-sized  teacup  full, 
,hree  or  four  times  a  day.  We  are  constrained,  how- 
ever, to  notice  one  circumstance  connected  with  this 
subject;  that  the  effect  produced  upon  the  system  by  a 
large  dose  of  the  tincture  of  the  rattle-root,  (which  is 
sometimes  used  instead  of  the  tea),  in  some  instances 
is  very  alarming,  though  we  have  heard  of  no  case 
in  which  any  bad  consequences  have  followed  its 
use." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Howard  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  effect  of  the  infusion  is  not  marked 
by  the  alarming  action  of  a  large  dose  of  the  drug, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  tincture.  The  reason  is  evidently 
because  the  watery  menstruum  does  not  carry  the  ener- 
getic resinous  compounds  that  are  present  in  such  large 
quantities  in  the  alcoholic  liquid.  This  indicates  the 
watchful  care  of  the  early  investigators  of  botanic 
drugs,  and  perhaps  the  error  of  the  alcoholic  substi- 
tutors.1 

Following  the  writers  above  mentioned  came  the 
Eclectic  fathers,  as  well  as  the  founders  of  the  Pharma- 
copeia, and  of  the  United  States  Dispensatory,  all  of 
whom  gave  to  "Macrotys"  its  full  value.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  Beach,  Dunglison,  Wood,  Griffith, 
Lee  and  King,  to  the  last  of  whom  (an  ardent  believer 
in  macrotys)  is  unquestionably  due  the  conspicuous 
position  the  drug  has  attained  in  Eclectic  literature,  as 
well,  probably,  as  a  large  share  of  its  popularity  in  other 
directions.  Professor  Dunglison,  1843,  placed  macrotys 
with  the  special  sedatives,  stating  that  "it  unites  with  a 
tonic  power,  the  property  of  stimulating  secretions, 

1  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  of  these  notes  a  pharmaceutical  blunder  has  been  made 
in  the  lavish  use  of  alcohol  in  plant  pharmacy. 


62  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

particularly  those  of  the  skin,  kidneys,  and  pulmonanr 
mucous  membrane."  He  records  its  value  in  rheuma, 
tism,  and  italicizes  the  statement  that  "the  more  acute 
the  disease,  the  more  prompt  and  decided  will  be  the 
action  of  the  remedy." 

The  Committee  of  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, 1848,  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  Chairman,  reported  that 
the  committee  "uniformly  found  Macrotys  to  lessen 
the  frequency  and  force  of  the  pulse,  to  soothe  pain 
and  allay  irritability."  In  a  word,  they  held  it  to  be 
"the  most  purely  sedative  agent  we  possess,  producing 
its  impression  chiefly  on  the  nervous  system  of  organic 
life."  (See  Drugs  and  Medicines  of  North  America). 
(389). 

CINCHONA1  (Cinchona,  Peruvian  Bark) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820,  following. 
The  species  of  cinchona  official  in  1910  are  those  derived  from 
Cinchona  Ledgeriana,  Cinchona  Calisaya,  and  of  hybrids  of  these 
with  other  species  of  cinchona.  Red  cinchona  is  derived  from 
Cinchona  succirubra,  or  of  its  hybrids. 

The  Extra  Pharmacopeia,  Martindale  and  Westcott,  Vol.  I, 
1920,  describes  the  bark  as  follows:  "The  principal  dried  barks 
used  for  the  production  of  the  salts  of  the  cinchona  alkaloids  are: 
red  cinchona  bark,  from  Cinchona  succirubra;  yellow  cinchona 
bark,  obtained  from  Cinchona  Calisaya  containing  upwards  of 
6%  of  alkaloids  (half  of  which  is  quinine) ;  pale  cinchona  bark 
(crown  or  Loxa  bark),  from  Cinchona  officinalis  (containing  5% 
alkaloids,  of  which  3>£%  may  be  quinine);  the  bark  of  Cinchona 
lancifolia,  Mutis;  Colombian  bark  (containing  about  2%  alka- 
loids, of  which  only  small  proportion  is  quinine) ;  and  other  spe- 
cies of  cinchona;  that  of  certain  species  of  Remijia  may  also  be 
used.  The  variety  most  used  for  making  galenical  preparations 
is  the  cultivated  red  cinchona." 

Possibly  never  before,  surely  never  since,  has  a 
remedial  agent  of  the  vegetable  world  met  vicissitudes 

'  Descriptions  of  the  trees  yielding  cinchona  bark,  together  with  the  processes  of  the 
natives  in  its  collection,  are  most  interesting.  But  to  include  in  this  article  a  section  devoted 
thereto  is  impracticable.  The  publications  cited  as  authorities  cover  the  ground  to  the 
fullest  extent. 


CINCHONA  63 

su  i  as  were  experienced  by  cinchona  during  the  half- 
ce  tury  following  its  discovery  in  the  Peruvian  wilds. 
To  make  a  creditable  summary  thereof  is  a  very  diffi- 
cult task.  To  condense  into  a  short  article  merely  the 
principal  events  of  its  voluminous  record,  with  full 
references  to  publications  regarding  this  South  Ameri- 
can bark,  can  not  here  be  accomplished. 

The  mystery  shrouding  the  discovery  of  cinchona 
has  never  been  authoritatively  cleared.  In  the  light 
of  its  present  supremacy  and  world-renowned  impor- 
tance, the  discredit  and  odium  cast  upon  it  in  the  early 
records,  when  its  only  friends  were  laymen,  charlatans 
and  semi-professional  empiricists,  seem  now  almost 
incomprehensible.  Past  literature  of  more  than  half 
a  century  voices  acridly  the  distractions  bred  in  the 
ranks  of  the  medical  profession,  as  this  strange  bark, 
a  gift  of  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  the  Peruvian  trop- 
ics, forced  itself  into  prominence.  The  monstrous 
reports  concerning  its  harmfulness,  and  the  divisions 
in  the  profession  itself  as  regards  its  usefulness,  be- 
speak toleration  today,  as  physicians  and  pharmacists 
now  differ  concerning  fact,  ideals,  and  ethics  with 
other  drugs. 

INDIAN  HISTORY:  That  the  natives  of  Peru  were 
not  aware  of  the  value  of  cinchona  in  fevers,  is  the 
opinion  of  many  writers,  including  Humboldt,  the 
explorer,  and  Ulloa.1  Humboldt  (see  Pharmaco- 
gr aphid)  states  as  follows:  "At  Loxa  the  natives  would 
rather  die  than  have  recourse  to  what  they  consider 

'A  celebrated  mathematician  and  naval  officer,  born  at  Seville  in  Spain,  1716.  He  ac- 
companied La  Condamine,  Gordin  and  other  "Savants"  in  the  historic  expedition  to  South 
America  to  measure  a  degree  of  meridian  of  the  equator,  1735.  He  gave  particular  attention 
to  the  cinchona  subject,  protesting  to  the  Spanish  government  against  the  habit  of  destroy- 
ing the  trees  to  get  the  bark,  advising  that  others  be  planted  in  their  stead.  "Though  the 
trees  are  numerous,  yet  they  have  an  end." 


64  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

so  dangerous  a  remedy."  To  this  Fliickiger1  at  Is, 
"The  early  native  history  of  cinchona  is  lost  in  obscu- 
rity, but  traditions  are  not  wanting."  Markham, 
page  5,  says,  "It  is  mentioned  neither  by  Inca  Carci- 
lasso  de  la  Vega,2  nor  Acosta,3  in  their  lists  of  Indian 
medicines."  To  this  Markham  adds,  "It  seems  prob- 
able, nevertheless,  that  the  Indians  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Loxa,  230  miles  south  of  Quito,  where  its  use 
was  first  made  known  to  Europeans,  were  aware  of  the 
virtues  of  Peruvian  bark,  and  the  local  name  for  the 
tree,  quina-quina,  'bark  of  barks',  indicates  that  it 
was  believed  to  possess  some  special  medicinal  proper- 
ties." 

Other  writers,  on  evidence  equally  valid,  assert  that 
the  bark  of  cinchona  was  undoubtedly  employed  in 
native  Indian  medication.  An  argument  in  favor  of 
their  view,  and  an  explanation  for  the  secrecy  main- 
tained by  the  natives,  is  that  the  cruel  methods  of  the 
Spanish  conquerors  led  the  Indians  to  guard  from  the 
invaders  all  knowledge  of  this,  their  greatest  treasure. 

•«  When  reference  is  made  to  Fliickiger  personally,  his  illustrated,  101-page  work,  The 
Cinchona  Bark,  translation  by  Frederick  B.  Power,  Ph.D.,  is  intended.  His  contribu- 
tions to  Pharmacographia  are  embraced  under  the  title  of  the  book. 

Frederick  August  Fluckiger  was  born  in  Langenthal,  SchuyU,  Switzerland,  May  15, 
1828.  One  of  the  world's  foremost  pharmacologists  and  teachers,  he  held  the  esteem  of  all 
who  knew  him  either  personally  or  through  his  contributions  to  science.  To  cite  his  publica- 
tions is  impossible  in  this  note.  His  crowning  efforts  may  be  seen  in  The  Cinchona  Barks 
and  Pharmacographie.  The  writer  of  this  note  may  be  excused,  he  hopes,  for  stating 
that  he  treasures  a  letter  from  Dr.  Fluckiger,  1885,  stating  that  he  was  using  the  article  on 
aconite  in  his  teaching,  as  well  as  other  chapters  of  Drugs  and  Medicines  of  North  A  mer- 
ica.  Nor  less  to  be  priied  is  the  honor  of  having  been  selected  by  Dr.  Fluckiger  to  unite 
with  him  in  the  production  of  a  Pharmacographia  of  North  American  Medicinal  Plants, 
interrupted  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Fliickiger. 

» Garcilaso  de  la  Vega.  He  was  surnamed  The  Inca  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he  was  born 
in  Peru,  his  mother  being  a  native  Princess  descendant  of  the  Incas.  He  published  a  History 
of  Peru  and  obtained  a  pension  from  Philip  II.  1605  he  wrote  an  account  of  the  conquest 
of  Florida  by  De  Soto.  See  Prescott's  History  of  Conquest  of  Peru,  VoL  I,  book  II. 

•Acosta,  Joseph,  Spanish  Jesuit  born  in  Medina  Del  Campo,  about  1530.  In  1571 
became  missionary  to  South  America.  On  his  return  in  1588,  he  published  Natural  and 
Moral  History  of  the  Indes.  Connecting  himself  afterwards  with  the  University  of 
.  died  in  1600. 


CINCHONA  65 

Jussieu1  states  that  the  first  knowledge  of  the  efficacy  of 
this  bark  was  derived  from  the  Indians  of  Malacotas, 
some  leagues  south  of  Loxa.  Weddell's  History.* 

Ralph  Irving,3  1785,  records  current  tradition  of 
his  day,  as  follows:  "It  has  been  generally  supposed 
that  the  Indians  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  this 
bark  as  early  as  the  year  1500.  It  has  also  been  alleged 
that  the  discovery  was  due  to  the  accident  of  a  diseased 
Indian  drinking  from  necessity  some  stagnant  water 
wherein  this  tree  had  long  macerated."  This  tradi- 
tional narrative  is  varied  by  others,  who  state  that 
"the  party  cured  was  a  Spanish  soldier."  (Wellcome, 
page  829.)  Irving,  in  answer  to  the  question  why 
for  more  than  one  hundred  years  no  mention  was  made 
of  this  drug  in  early  Spanish  literature,  says,  page  125, 
"Such  discoveries  were  indeed  poor  objects  for  a  ra- 
pacious and  illiterate  army,  whose  every  path  was 
marked  with  cruelty  and  slaughter."  Joseph  de  Jus- 
sieu, who  visited  Loxa  in  1739,  reports  that  the  bark 
was  "first  made  known  to  a  Jesuit  missionary  cured  of 
a  fever  by  an  Indian  priest  of  the  Sun  Worshippers," 
Fltickiger.  Perhaps  the  latest  evidence  on  this  phase 
of  the  cinchona  subject  is  that  contributed  by  Henry 

i  Brother  of  Antoine  and  Bernard  de  Jussieu:  a  famous  family  of  scientists.  Joseph, 
in  1735,  visited  Peru  as  Botanist,  collecting  specimens  and  general  information,  under  an 
exploring  expedition  of  the  French  and  Spanish  governments.  In  1739  he  visited  Loxa 
in  association  with  La  Condamine  in  the  first  examination  of  the  Loxa  cinchona  trees, 
remaining  in  South  America  after  La  Condamine's  departure.  In  all  he  spent  thirty-four 
years  in  laborious,  self-sacrificing  pioneering  research,  to  be  at  last  robbed  by  a  dishonest 
servant  of  his  great  collection  of  plants  and  specimens.  In  1771  he  returned  to  France, 
deprived  of  reason  by  the  great  loss. 

>  Dr.  H.  A.  Weddell  is  accepted  as  exceptional  authority  on  the  cinchona  subject.  In 
his  voyage  to  Bolivia  and  Peru  he  made  special  studies  of  the  cinchonas,  published  many 
treatises  on  this  history  and  connected  problems,  the  one  issued  in  Paris  (1849)  being  illus- 
trated by  34  plates.  His  name  occurs  in  all  historical  reviews  of  Peruvian  bark. 

•Ralph  Irving  dedicated  his  101-page  dissertation  to  John  Eliott,  Esq.,  December 
16,  1784.  It  comprised  experiments  and  statistics  on  "Red  and  Quill"  Peruvian  Bark,  the 
Dissertation  being  awarded  first  prize  by  the  Harveian  Society  of  Edinburg,  1784.  The 
book  was  published  in  1785. 


66  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

S.  Wellcome1,  who  in  1878-9  made  an  exploring  trip 
to  the  cinchona  sections  of  South  America.  Mr.  Well- 
come's  impromptu  Address  on  the  Cinchona  Subject, 
accompanied  by  specimens  of  the  bark  and  leaves 
taken  by  him  from  the  cinchona  trees,  formed  the  lead- 
ing feature  of  the  meeting  of  the  American  Pharma- 
ceutical Association  in  Indianapolis,  1879.  (Proc. 
Am.  Pharm.  Assn.,  1879,  p.  830.)  He  accepted  that 
the  use  of  cinchona  in  fevers  was  known  to  the  Indians, 
but  that  they  were  secretive  concerning  it,  "as  is  fre- 
quently the  case  with  primitive  peoples,  in  all  parts  of 
the  world."  He  asks,  "How  is  it  that  the  term  applied 
to  cinchona  bark  by  the  Indians  is  quinia-quinia, 
which  signifies  'medicine  bark?' "  He  adds,  "The 
Indians  of  Equador  told  me  they  regarded  the  bark  as 
a  specific  in  fever." 

Taking  the  evidence  as  a  whole,  one  may  accept 
either  of  the  traditions  that  thread  the  story  of  cin- 
chona, that  the  secret  of  the  bark  was  imparted  by 
the  Indians  to  the  Jesuits,  or  that  a  Jesuit  himself 
discovered  its  virtues.  To  the  writer  it  seems  more 
than  likely  that  the  natives  of  those  malarial  tropical 
lands  made  the  discovery,  perhaps  in  times  lost  even 
to  tradition,  than  that  a  casual  explorer  of  the  almost 
inaccessible  valleys  of  the  high  Cordilleras  should, 
from  the  multitude  of  herbs,  shrubs  and  trees,  with 
tropical  forms  of  vegetation  of  every  description  be- 
fore him,  have  experimented-on  himself  and  established 
the  qualities  of  the  bark  of  this  one  tree.  To  this  we 
might  add  that  the  art  of  neglecting  to  credit  the 

i  Henry  S.  Wellcome  is  an  American,  connected,  at  the  time  he  made  the  exploration 
of  the  cinchona  regions  of  South  America,  with  the  New  York  firm  of  McKesson  &  Rohhins, 
under  whose  auspices  he  made  the  journey.  He  removed  to  England  and  with  Mr.  Bur- 
roughs established  the  firm  Burroughs,  Wellcome  &  Co.  The  African  traveler  and  explorer, 
Stanley,  and  Mr.  Wellcome,  were  close  friends,  jointly  introducing  Btrophanthus,  which  sec. 


CINCHONA  67 

aborigines  or  the  pioneer,  is  not  wholly  confined  to 
times  gone  by. 

INDIAN  NAMES  OF  CINCHONA.  Few  historical  writ- 
ers disagree  in  that  there  were  wide  variations  in  the 
spelling  of  the  original  Indian  name  for  cinchona, 
Quinia-quinia,  among  these  being  Quin-quinia,  Quina- 
quina,  Quinquinia  and  Quinaquinia.  Markham,1 
p.  5,  footnote,  says,  "In  Quichua,  when  the  name  of  a 
plant  is  duplicated,  it  almost  invariably  implies  that 
it  is  possessed  of  some  medicinal  qualities."  Fliickiger 
says,  p.  81,  that  Quina-quinia  was  "adopted  by  the 
Europeans,  and  that  it  became  simplified  into  Quinia, 
Kina,  or  China."  The  last  term,  China,  is  much  em- 
ployed in  Homeopathic  materia  medicas.  Among  the 
references  to  cinchona  treatises  given  by  Markham, 
sixteen  employ  the  name  Quinquinia  as  the  leading 
title. 

Irving,  p.  10,  states  that  "The  natives  (location  not 
given. — L.)  are  said  to  have  known  it  by  the  name  of 
Ganapride,  Guananepide,  Chinanepide,  and  Quanan- 
egine."  He  adds,  "We  are  not  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  language  of  those  countries  to  understand 
the  import  of  these  names.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  some  of  them  are  derived  from  the  known  virtues 
of  the  remedy,  and  others  from  particular  circum- 
stances respecting  its  discovery  and  appearance." 

Relph*  uses  the  term  Quinquinia  continuously,  for 

'  Clement  Roberts  Markham  was  a  traveler  and  author.  He  was  born  at  Stillingfleet, 
Yorkshire,  England,  July  20,  1830.  His  journeys  were  from  the  Arctic  icpons  U.  the  tropics, 
where  (tropics)  he  became  interested  in  cinchona.  In  Peru  he  made  studies  of  the  locations 
the  trees  occupied,  and,  collecting  the  young  ones,  introduced  successfully  cinchona  to  Eng- 
land. A  pronounced  champion  for  the  correct  spelling  of  the  "Countess1 "  name,  he  attacks 
the  misspelled  word  cinchona,  demanding  that  it  be  chinchona.  His  550-page  volume  on 
the  Peruvian  barks,  titled  Chinchona,  is  a  scholarly  treatise  by  one  acquainted  with  the 
subject  by  personal  experience  and  literary  research. 

•John  Relph,  M.D.,  was  physician  to  Guy's  Hospital  in  1794.    His  177-page  volume 
(see  Bibliography  following  Cinchona)  is  devoted  to  "A  new  species  of  Peruvian  bark  lately 
imported  into  this  country  under  the  name  yellow  bark." 
6 


68  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

example,  p.  9,  "Before  the  year  1730  no  botanical 
history  of  the  Quinquinia  or  Arbor  Febrifuga  Peru- 
viana,  as  the  Cinchona  offidnalis  was  then  called,  is 
found  worthy  of  attention." 

The  evidence  presented,  in  our  opinion,  firmly  es- 
tablishes Quinia-quinia  as  the  Indian  name  of  cin- 
chona, regardless  of  the  spelling,  in  historical  literature. 

"JESUITS'  BARK."  It  is  generally  accepted  that 
cinchona  owes  its  introduction  to  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries to  South  America,  from  whom  it  took  the  name 
"Jesuits'  Bark."  It  also  received  the  name  "cinchona" 
from  the  Countess  of  Chinchon,  who  in  Peru,  through 
the  agency  of  the  Jesuits,  had  by  its  means  been  cured 
of  a  fever.  It  is,  however,  a  subject  of  discussion,  as 
previously  stated,  whether  the  Jesuit  Father  who, 
through  the  Corregidor  of  Loxa,  introduced  the  drug 
to  the  physician  who  treated  the  Countess,  obtained 
his  knowledge  of  its  virtues  from  the  Indians.  It  is 
also  a  matter  of  discussion  whether  the  "bark"  was 
first  brought  into  Europe  by  the  Jesuits,  or  by  the 
Countess  of  Chinchon.  Let  us  present  briefly  the 
record. 

Relph,  1794,  states  that  "the  'Peruvian  bark'  was 
first  brought  to  Spain  in  the  year  1632,1  and  that  its 
febrifuge  power  was  recognized  in  that  country  from 
an  actual  trial  of  its  success  in  1639  ;2  yet  so  prej- 
udiced against  it  were  the  Spanish  physicians,  that, 
had  not  its  use  been  promoted  and  zealously  guarded 
by  the  Jesuits,  the  utility  of  this  medicine  might  have 
been  still  unestablished."  He  adds  that  Arrot's  "Ac- 

i  That  was  sk  years  before  the  Countess  was  cured  of  fever,  and  eight  years  before 
she  sent  specimens  of  the  bark  to  Europe.  We  have  not  been  able  elsewhere  to  verify  the 
date  1632. 

'This  date  conforms  to  the  accepted  date  of  the  Countess'  exportation. 


CINCHONA  69 

count  of  the  Peruvian  or  Jesuits'  Bark,  read  before  the 
Royal  Society  in  1737,  is  the  first  in  order  of  time  which 
appears  to  claim  any  consideration." 

Dr.  Thomas  Sydenham,  one  of  the  fairest  and  least 
prejudiced  authorities  in  medicine  during  the  period 
of  the  cinchona  controversy,  uses  the  term  Jesuits' 
Bark  freely.  But  he  employs  also  the  terms  Peruvian 
bark  and  cinchona. 

Fliickiger  accepts  practically  that  a  Jesuit  Father 
introduced  the  bark  to  the  physician  of  the  Countess 
of  Chinchon,  having  obtained  his  knowledge  of  its 
virtues  through  the  Spanish  Corregidor  of  Loxa,  Don 
Lopez  de  Canizares.  He  says,  p.  82,  "Here  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Malacatos,  a  traveling  Jesuit  is  said  to  have 
been  cured  by  a  cacique  (Indian  priest)  of  a  fever  by 
means  of  cinchona,  and  to  have  extended  a  knowledge 
of  the  remedy."  In  this  village,  the  Spanish  Correg- 
idor of  Loxa,  Don  Lopez  de  Canizares,  was  also  cured 
of  fever  in  1630.  This  same  Don  Lopez,  on  learning 
of  the  illness  of  the  Countess,  in  Lima,  1638,1  sent  the 
Jesuits'  bark  to  her  physician,  Dr.  Juan  de  Vega,  who 
cured  her  of  the  disease.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer 
of  these  historical  notes  the  chain  seems  complete, 
as  follows:2 

An  Indian  "medicine  man,"  (priest),  in  Malacatos, 
near  Loxa,  taught  a  Jesuit  missionary  the  use  of  the 
drug. 

This  missionary  taught  others,  Canizares  of  Loxa 
thus  learning  of  it. 

'If  he  sent  the  bark  to  Spain  at  once,  the  date  given  by  Relph  (1632)  is  tentatively 
verified,  to  the  effect  that  cinchona  as  "Jesuits'  bark"  was  used  in  Spain  seven  years  before 
the  Countess  was  cured. 

'  Needless  is  it  to  give  references  to  numerous  unmentioned  prints  that  touch  this 
subject.  Authorities  mentioned  in  the  text  are  voluminous  in  themselves  and  all  cite  others 
that  will  keep  one  long  busy  if  ultra-research  in  cinchona  is  desirable. 


70  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Canizares  sent  the  bark  to  Juan  de  Vega,  the  physi- 
cian treating  the  Countess  of  Chinchon,  wife  of  the 
Viceroy  of  Peru. 

On  her  recovery,  the  Countess  sent  the  bark  to 
Europe. 

This  leads  to  the  question  of  the  European  history 
of  cinchona,  and  name  of  the  drug. 

THE  EUROPEAN  NAME. — CINCHONA  or  CHIN- 
CHONA.  Peru  was  invaded  and  subjugated  by  the 
Spaniards  in  1513.  Enormous  riches  were  obtained 
by  them,  but  the  knowledge  of  cinchona,  most  precious 
of  all  the  gifts  of  Peru,  lay  dormant  for  more  than  one 
hundred  years. 

In  1628  the  fourth  Count  of  Chinchon  was  appointed 
Viceroy  of  Peru,  and  with  his  wife  reached  Lima  in 
1629.  In  1638  the  Countess  was  stricken  with  tertian 
fever,  then  a  very  prevalent  and  a  very  perplexing 
ailment,  so  far  as  treatment  was  concerned.  Her 
physician,  Dr.  Juan  de  Vega,  received  from  the  Cor- 
regidor  of  Loxa  a  "new  remedy,"  the  bark  of  a  native 
tree,  which  he  proceeded  to  administer  to  the  Countess, 
who  recovered.  On  her  return  to  Spain,  in  1640,  the 
Countess  brought  with  her  supplies  of  the  bark.  This 
was  used  among  the  sick  of  her  home  locality,  and  be- 
came celebrated  as  a  specific  for  fever  and  ague  under 
the  name  "The  Countess'  Powder."  "By  this  name  it 
was  long  known  to  druggists,  and  in  commerce." 
(Markham).  Her  Peruvian  physician,  Dr.  Juan  de 
Vega,  followed  her  to  Spain,  bringing  large  supplies 
of  the  bark,  which  he  sold  at  100  reals  a  pound.  The 
name  of  the  Countess  of  Chinchon  was  thus  indelibly 
linked  with  this  great  discovery.  Linnaeus,  in  recog- 
nition, attempted  to  honor  her  by  naming  after  her 


CINCHONA  71 

the  genus  yielding  the  bark,  but  by  error  of  spelling  he 
omitted  from  the  name  one  letter  h,  making  the  record 
cinchona,  instead  of  chinchona.  Spanish  botanists 
discovered  the  error,  but  Linnaeus  having  died,  the 
correction  was  not  made.  The  mutilated  name  now 
stands  authoritatively,  the  world  over,  though  resisted 
unavailingly  by  many  authorities,  and  had  been 
adopted  by  our  own  Pharmacopeia.  But  regardless 
of  the  lost  letter  h,  the  Countess  of  Chinchon  has  not 
lost  the  gratitude  of  the  world. 

EUROPEAN  HISTORY  OF  CINCHONA.  Here  we  find, 
interwoven,  the  story  of  commercial  greed,  and  the 
efforts  of  the  self-sacrificing  pioneer;  antagonisms  of 
religious  sects,  and  rivalries  of  nations;  distractions  bred 
by  medical  ethics  and  personal  hatred  within  pro- 
fessional ranks. 

That  the  Countess  of  Chinchon  took  the  drug  to 
Spain  in  a  spirit  of  pure  service  to  humanity,  is  incon- 
trovertible. That  the  Jesuit  Fathers  independently, 
perhaps  simultaneously,  made  the  same  humane  offer- 
ing in  Italy,  is  likewise  accepted  by  this  writer.  As 
already  recorded,  Ralph  Irving  states,  p.  14,  that  "It 
was  known  in  Rome  in  the  year  1639,  and  that,  in  the 
year  following,  John  (Juan)  de  Viga,  physician  to  a 
Vice  Queen  in  Peru,  established  it  in  Spain  at  an  hun- 
dred crowns  a  pound."  Since  de  Vigo  (spelled  elswhere 
Vega)  was  the  physician  who  treated  the  Countess, 
it  is  evident  that  he  hastened  to  Spain  with  the  new 
discovery.  That  the  Jesuits  were  not  less  active  is 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  Cardinal  de  Lugo,1 

1  Cardinal  de  Lugo,  a  Spanish  priest,  was  born  at  Madrid  in  1583.  He  was  made  a 
Cardinal  in  Rome,  1643.  His  interest  in  cinchona  was  pronounced  and  served  to  further 
the  term  Jesuits'  bark.  His  free  distribution  of  the  new  agent  to  cure  malaria,  as  well  as 
his  authoritative  influence  in  its  commerce  by  apothecaries,  gave  to  the  powder  the  name 
Cardinal  de  Lugo  Powder. 


72  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Attorney-General  of  the  order  of  Jesuits  (Rome),  be- 
gan "the  distribution  of  cinchona  to  the  indigent  sick." 
Thus,  to  use  the  words  of  Markham,  p.  14,  "It  was  a 
ludicrous  result  of  its  patronage  by  the  Jesuits,  that 
its  use  should  have  been  for  a  long  time  opposed  by 
Protestants,  and  favored  by  Roman  Catholics." 

Came  now  another  opportunity  for  conflict.  Though 
long  previously  adopted  by  the  physicians  of  Paris, 
Spain  and  Italy,  cinchona  did  not  appear  in  England 
until  about  1655-58,  and  then  as  a  popularly  advertised 
"nostrum,"1  under  the  title,  "The  excellent  powder 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Jesuits'  Powder."  During  the 
entire  interval  commercialism  was  rampant,  sophisti- 
cations were  plentiful,  and  fortunes  were  made,  as 
perhaps  never  before  with  a  new  drug.  These  facts 
became  an  opportunity  for  professional  controversy, 
marked  by  much  acridity.  Thus  the  greatest  gift  of 
the  botanical  new  world  was,  for  half  a  century,  praised 
by  some,  vilified  by  others;  being  made  the  basis  of 
secret  fever  cures,  it  was  ostracised  and  traduced,  and 
narrowly  escaped  a  total  extinction  by  the  profession. 

Forty  years  after  its  introduction  into  England, 
Charles  II,  who  reigned  from  1660  to  1685,  was  cured  of 
a  fever  by  his  physician,  Talbor,  who  was  knighted  there- 
for. Talbor's  secret  remedy  was,  in  1679,  purchased 
by  Louis  XIV  "for  2000  Louis-d'or,  a  large  pension 
and  a  title."  (Markham).  After  the  death  of  Talbor 
the  formula  was  made  public,  its  chief  constituent 
proving  to  be  the  Jesuits'  Powder,  or  cinchona.  From 
that  time  cinchona,  under  its  various  names,  became 
an  article  of  commerce  throughout  Europe. 

CINCHONA  CULTIVATION.     Early    in    the    cinchona 

»See  Professional  History,  Harvey. 


CINCHONA  73 

period  came  the  fear  that  within  a  reasonable  time  the 
native  forests  would  be  exterminated.  Exportation 
of  the  plants  was  naturally  opposed  by  the  Peruvian 
government,  which  desired  to  retain  the  monopoly  of 
so  important  a  product,  but,  in  1743,  La  Condamine 
attempted  to  transport  young  plants  down  the  Amazon 
and  thence  to  Paris.  The  box  containing  these  was 
washed  overboard,  but  subsequent  attempts  were  more 
successful,  and  cinchona  groves  were  established  in 
localities  appropriate  as  regards  climate,  soil  and  eleva- 
tion. Not  only  was  the  world  thus  saved  as  concerns 
this  valuable  drug,  but  the  yield  of  alkaloids  was  enor- 
mously increased,  and  the  price  has  much  decreased. 
Markham  thus  describes  his  experience  in  collecting 
young  cinchona  plants  for  transportation: 

"In  different  parts  of  this  ridge  we  collected  124 
young  C.  Calisaya  plants,  most  of  them  root-shoots, 
and  a  few  seedlings.  There  were  also  two  young  trees 
bearing  capsules.  The  C.  Calisaya  plants  were  all 
growing  out  of  moss  which  covered  the  rock  to  a  thick- 
ness of  eight  niches  or  a  foot." 

PROFESSIONAL  HISTORY:  Incomplete  would  be  this 
brief  history  of  cinchona,  were  no  reference  made  to 
the  many  professional  distractions  connected  therewith. 
Unbelievable,  almost,  were  these.  "The  controver- 
sies that  arose  on  the  subject,  between  learned  doctors, 
were  long  and  acrimonious.  Dr.  Colmenero,  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  University  of  Salamanca,  wrote  a  work 
in  which  he  declared  that  ninety  sudden  deaths  .had 
been  caused  by  its  use  in  Madrid  alone."  (Markham). 
Factional,  as  well  as  personal,  were  the  disputes  over 
its  value  or  harmfulness.  The  two  sides  of  the  con- 
troversy can  perhaps  be  no  more  forcibly  presented, 


74  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

than  in  the  disputants'  own  words,  as  late  as  1683, 
(Gideon  Harvey),1  and  1715,  (Sydenham)2 : 

Harvey,  whose  antipathy  to  cinchona  was  perhaps 
due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  first  introduced  into  England 
through  newspaper  advertisements  by  an  apothecary, 
spares  no  words  in  attacking  the  apothecary  who  pre- 
sumed to  introduce  the  "Quack"  remedy.  Nor  does 
he  handle  more  kindly  the  physicians  "who  prosti- 
tute their  calling  by  using  a  remedy  thus  introduced." 
Let  us  quote: 

"This  Jesuits'  Powder  is  not  a  medicine  newly  found, 
but  revived  by  a  debauched  ApotJiecaries'  Apprentice 
of  Cambridge,  in  the  application  to  all  intermittent 
Feavors,  and  he  in  this  empirical  practice,  is  most 
diligently  imitated  by  our  most  famous  Physic  Doctors, 
as  their  Esculapius  and  first  master.  (A  hopeful  tribe 
in  the  meantime  that  shall  leave  Sense,  Reason,  and 
Dogmata,  to  follow  a  Quack  or  Empirick)."3 

The  opinion  of  Dr.  Harvey  concerning  the  "Fathers 
Jesuits  whose  name  is  put  upon  the  parcel,"4  is  ex- 
pressed as  follows: 

"However,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  aforesaid 
drug  is  artificially  prepared,  the  tree  spoken  of,  or  some 
other  like  it,  affording  nothing  but  wood,  into  which 
the  bitter  taste  is  immitted,  by  macerating  it  a  con- 
venient tune  in  the  juice  of  a  certain  Indian  plant,  to 
which  that  penetrating  bitterness  is  peculiar." 

1  See  note  1,  page  76. 

« "The  English  Hippocrates,"  whose  work  on  fevers,  published  in  1666,  gave  cinchona 
a  hearty  welcome.  This  was  naturally  offensive  to  the  anti-cinchona  faction,  as  shown  by 
the  extracts  on  pages  75,  76. 

»To  take  from  the  world's  products,  medicines  as  well  as  foods,  introduced  by  parties 
engaged  in  commerce,  would  impoverish  humanity.  And  yet  the  art  of  thoughtlessly  sneer- 
ing at  the  "Commercial"  man  is  to  some  a  pleasant  pastime. 

'This  is  the  only  reference  we  have  noticed  concerning  the  method  of  distributing 
Jesuits  Powder.  Concerning  the  amount  of  the  powder  and  the  price,  Harvey  states,  page 
149,  "a  crown  an  ounce." 


CINCHONA  75 

Harvey  thus  continues  the  discussion: 

"After  all,  I  could  wish  these  Fathers  had  kept 
their  Indian  Bark  to  themselves,  and  sure  I  am,  hun- 
dreds would  be  on  this  side  the  Grave,  whpse  bones  are 
now  turned  into  the  first  element." 

In  this  sentence  Harvey,  rather  gently,  introduces 
his  opinion  of  the  effects  of  "this  terrible  scourge." 
From  his  chapter  bearing  the  heading,  "Proving  that 
the  Jesuits'  Powder  never  yet  cured  any  remitting  fever," 
let  us  quote:1 

"That  many  Noblemen,  and  hundreds  of  others, 
within  these  few  years,  being  seized  with  this  popular 
feavor,  and  managed  with  the  Jesuits'  Powder,  have 
died,  or  more  properly  been  manslaughtered  by  their 
physicians,  needs  no  confirmation."  "They  (the  physi- 
cians using  Jesuits'  Powder)  have  killed  thousands, 
and  never  yet  cured  any  one  man,  excepting  possibly 
three  or  four  among  a  million,  whose  robust  natures 
neither  Disease  nor  Remedy  could  destroy."  As  a 
specific  case  Dr.  Harvey  cites  a  man  "of  illustrious 
extraction,"  whose  treatment,  and  result  thereof,  he 
gives,  as  follows:  "By  as  much  as  the  Cinchona  abated 
the  Paroxysms  of  his  Tertian,  in  an  equal  scantling 
it  augmented  his  continual  Feavor  into  a  burning, 
and  at  last  by  its  frequent  exhibition  Jesuited  him  out 
of  his  being." 

Concerning  the  after  effects  of  cinchona  Harvey 
writes  as  follows:  "Agues  can  not  otherwise  be  termed 
cured  by  the  Jesuits'  Bark,  but  only  stopped.  The 
fits  upon  some  short  interval  do  return.  Worse  diseases 
are  engendered  as  Dropsy,  Consumption,  Scurvy,  or 
twenty  other  Distempers  that  either  render  the  party 

1  Bear  in  mind  that  this  is  written  by  the  "physician  in  ordinary  to  Hifl  Majesty,"  nearly 
fifty  years  after  cinchona's  introduction  in  Europe. 


76  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

his  whole  lifetime  extremely  crazy  or  kill  him  out- 
right." 

Concerning  the  selection  of  a  physician,  Dr.  Harvey 
says:  "If  you  shall  meet  with  a  physician  that  can 
safely,  and  not  over  speedily  Cure  you,  without  giv- 
ing the  Jesuits'  Powder,  never  meddle  with  the  Jesuit, 
with  whom  the  less  a  man  has  to  do  either  sick  or  well, 
its  the  better."1 

In  the  closing  chapter  of  his  book  Dr.  Harvey  vi- 
ciously attacks  "The  Conclave  of  Physicians"2  who 
change  their  methods  of  treating  fever  (examples 
given)  as  the  years  pass  until  finally  "they  fall  into 
an  empirical  course,  as  exhibiting  Jesuits'  Bark  against 
all  continual  and  intermittent  fever,  which  now  (Jes- 
uits' Bark}  by  all  men  is  judged  to  be  more  fatal  than 
any  of  the  former. 

Quite  different  in  tone,  and  more  effective,  is  the 
argument  of  the  staunch  supporter  of  cinchona,  Dr. 
Thomas  Sydenham,  in  "The  Whole  Works,"  1715.3 
His  moderation,  "viewing  a  disease  as  a  thing  in 
itself",  is  shown  by  the  following  passage  from  his 
Preface:  "If  any  one  should  object  here,  that  we  had 
long  ago  a  sufficient  number  of  Specific  Remedies, 
this  very  Man,  if  he  will  make  diligent  search,  would 

'These  rather  coarse  arguments  (the  more  vicious  not  reproduced),  might  lead  one 
to  consider  the  author  a  mountebank.  But  his  record,  as  given  in  Lippincott's  Biographical 
Dictionary,  is  as  follows: 

"Harvey  (Gideon),  an  English  physician  and  writer,  born  in  Surrey,  was  medical  at- 
tendant of  Charles  II  in  his  exile,  and  was  subsequently  physician  to  William  III.  Died  in 
1700." 

•Evidently  the  section  of  the  Medical  Profession  with  which  he  did  not  affiliate.  Par- 
ticularly vicious  is  he  againt  the  "Paris  Conclave"  and  the  eminent  English  anatomist, 
Dr.  Thomas  Willis,  to  whom  he  devotes  Chapter  XVII,  titled  "Willis,  his  Hypothesis  of 
Agues  is  Ridiculously  Erroneous." 

'The  Translator's  Preface  from  the  Latin  edition  (by  John  Peachey,  M.D.)  is  dated 
1711.  The  Author's  Preface,  undated,  follows.  The  Translator's  English  volume  is  dated 
1715.  The  Author's  final  word  (see  page  78)  makes  the  date  of  his  last  contribution  Septem- 
ber 29,  1686. 


CINCHONA  77 

soon  be  of  another  mind;  for  the  Peruvian  Bark  is  all 
the  Specific  we  have." 

The  formula  of  the  ague  remedy  used  by  Sydenham 
in  the  epidemic  of  1681,  is  as  follows:  "Take  of  the 
Jesuits'  Powder  one  Ounce,  of  the  Conserve  of  Red 
Roses,  two  Ounces,  mingle  them." 

Space  forbids  his  voluminous  comments  on  ague  and 
its  treatment,  but  the  following  extract  giving  his 
views  regarding  purging  and  bleeding  in  fevers,  and 
summing  up,  without  personalities,  the  prejudice 
against  cinchona,  will  not  be  out  of  place: 

"Therefore,  whilst  I  considered  how  ineffectual  this 
method  was  (the  accepted  course  of  treatment — L.) 
and  also  other  evacuation,  that  is  Bleeding  and  Purg- 
ing, both  whereof  by  relaxing  the  Tone  of  the  Blood 
protract  the  Disease,  the  Peruvian  Bark  gave  me  the 
most  certain  hope;  concerning  which  I  can  safely  say, 
notwithstanding  the  prejudice  of  the  common  people, 
and  of  some  of  the  Learned,  I  never  saw,  nor  could  so 
much  as  suspect  any  mischief  would  happen  the  Sick 
by  the  use  of  it.  I  should  not  doubt  to  give  it  the  first 
place,  among  all  the  Medicines  that  are  yet  known." 

In  explanation  of  the  prejudice  against  cinchona 
Sydenham  says:  "But  the  said  Bark  has  got  an  ill 
Name,  I  suppose  for  these  reasons,  chiefly;  First,  be- 
cause all  the  dreadful  Symptoms  that  attend  an  Ague, 
when  it  has  tormented  an  Man  a  long  time  are  imputed 
to  the  Bark,  when  he  scarce  has  used  it  once." 

Sydenham  makes  the  following  historical  contri- 
bution as  regards  the  introduction  of  cinchona  into 
England  (p.  224): 

"The  Peruvian  Bark  which  is  commonly  called  the 
Jesuits'  Powder,  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  if  I 


78  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

remember  well,  first  became  famous  at  London  for 
curing  Agues,  and  especially  Quartans,  and  indeed  for 
the  very  good  reasons,  seeing  these  diseases  were 
rarely  cured  before  by  any  other  Method  or  Medi- 
cine." 

With  refreshing  exactness  Sydenham  closes  his  re- 
markable work  as  follows  (p.  453) : 

"And  this  is  in  manner  the  Sum  of  all,  which  I  have 
hitherto  known  concerning  the  Cure  of  Diseases,  viz. 
to  the  29th  of  September,  1686." 

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Flora  Peruviana  et  Chilensis.  (Madrid,  1798-1802.  Folio. 
4  vols.  425  plates.)  And  other  publications. 

Pelletier,  Dr.  Joseph. 

Observations  medicales  sur   Pemploi  des  bases  salifiables 
des  quinquinas.    (Journ.  de  Pharm.  vii.  p.  128,  1821.)    And 
other  publications. 
Pelletier  et  J.  B.  Caventou. 

Recherches  chimiques  sur  les  Quinquinas.  (Annales  de 
chimie,  xv.  p.  289,  1820;  Journ.  de  Pharm.  vi.  p.  5;  vii.  p.  49.) 
And  other  publications. 

Pereira,  Dr.  Jonathan,  M.D.,  F.R.8. 

The  elements  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics.  (4th 
edition,  vol.  ii.  Part  ii.  Article  "Chinchona,"  pp.  70  to  152. 
Longman,  1857.) 

The  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
Ninth  Decennial  Revision,  and  other  Pharmacopoeias. 

Planchon,  Gustave. 

Des  Quinquinas.  (Paris  et  Montpellier,  1864,  8vo,  150 
pp.)  An  English  translation,  under  the  title  "Peruvian 


82  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Barks,"  was  printed  at  the  India  Office  in  1866,  with  a  preface 
by  Clements  R.  Markham. 

Pritchett,  G.  J. 

Correspondence  relating  to  employment  to  obtain  plants 
and  seeds  of  the  grey  bark  species  of  Cinchona  in  the  forests 
of  Huanuco.  (B.  B.  I.  p.  119.)  And  other  publications. 

Relph,  John,  M.D. 

An  Inquiry  into  the  Medical  Efficacy  of  a  New  Species 
of  Peruvian  Bark,  lately  imported  into  this  country  under 
the  name  of  Yellow  Bark;  including  Practical  Observations 
respecting  the  choice  of  bark  in  general.  By  John  Relph, 
M.D.,  Physician  to  Guy's  Hospital.  London,  1794. 

Royk,  Dr.  Forbes,  M.D. 

A  Manual  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics.  Article 
"Chinchona."  (London,  1847,  8vo.  2d  ed.  1853.  3d  ed. 
1856.  American  ed.  by  J.  Carson,  M.D.,  Philadelphia,  1847.) 
The  Chinchona  article  was  printed  separately.  And  other 
publications. 

Ruiz,  Don  Hipolito. 

(See  Pavon.)  Quinologia,  o  tratado  de  arbol  de  la  Quina 
o  Cascarilla.  (Madrid,  1801,  4to,  pp.  154.)  And  other  pub- 
lications. 

Ruiz,  Don  Sebastian  Josef  Lopez. 

Defensa  y  demonstracion  del  verdadero  descubridor  de  las 
Quinas  del  Reyno  de  Santa  Fe,  con  varias  noticias  utiles  de 
este  especifico,  en  contestacion  a  la  memoria  de  Don  Fran- 
cisco Antonio  Zea.  (Su  autor  el  mismo  descubridor.  "Has 
ego  Chinchonas  reperi,  tulit  alter  honores."  (Madrid,  1802.) 

Spruce,  Dr.  Richard,  Ph.D. 

Notes  of  a  visit  to  the  Chinchona  forests  of  the  western 
slope  of  the  Quitenian  Andes.  (Journal  of  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Linnsean  Society,  vol.  iv.)  And  other  publications. 

Sydenham,  Dr.  Thomas. 

The  Whole  Works  of  that  Excellent  Practical  Physician, 
Dr.  Thomas  Sydenham.  Wherein  not  only  the  History  and 
Cures  of  Acute  Diseases  are  treated  of,  after  a  New  and 
Accurate  Method;  but  also  the  Shortest  and  safest  Way  of 


CINNAMOMUM,  CASSIA  83 

Curing  most  Chronical  Diseases.  The  Sixth  Edition,  cor- 
rected from  the  Original  Latin,  by  John  Pechey,  M.D.,  of 
the  College  of  Physicians  in  London,  1715. 

Vincent,  Benjamin. 

Haydn's  Dictionary  of  Dates  and  Universal  Information 
Relating  to  all  Ages  and  Nations.  By  the  late  Benjamin 
Vincent.  Revised  and  brought  up  to  date  by  eminent 
Authorities.  Twenty-third  Edition.  The  London  Publish- 
ing Co.,  1904. 

WeddeU,  Dr.  H.  A. 

Histoire  Naturelle  des  Quinquinas,  ou  Monographic  du 
genre  Chinchona,  suivie  d'une  description  du  genre  Cas- 
carilla  et  de  quelques  autres  plantes  de  la  meme  tribu.  (Paris, 
1849.  Folio.  34  plates,  map,  pp.  108.)  And  other  publica- 
tions. 

Wellcome,  Henry  S. 

"A  Visit  to  the  Native  Cinchona  Forests  of  South  America." 
Proceedings  of  The  American  Pharmaceutical  Association, 
twenty-seventh  Annual  Meeting,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  pp. 
814-830  inclusive. 

Wootton,  A.  C. 

Chronicles  of  Pharmacy.  By  A.  C.  Wootton.  Vols.  I  and 
II.  London,  1910. 

CINNAMOMUM,  CASSIA  (Cinnamon) 
Official,  in  every  edition  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820. 

Probably  this  is  the  first  spice  sought  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  Orient  or  from  the  Indian  Ocean,  its  early 
record  being  lost  in  antiquity.  It  is  mentioned  as  a 
precious  spice  in  the  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Ezekiel,  Reve- 
lation, etc.,  and  by  the  ancient  historians  Theophrastus 
(633),  Herodotus  (314a),  Galen,  (254a),  Dioscorides, 
(194),  Pliny  (514),  Strabo,  and  others.  No  distinction 
was  then  drawn  between  cinnamon  and  cassia,  the  dif- 


g4  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

ference  being  considered  one  of  quality  only.  Cinna- 
mon and  cassia  are  mentioned  as  ranking  in  value  with 
gold,  ivory  and  frankincense,  and  as  being  among  the 
most  costly  of  the  offerings  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  in 
Miletus,  B.  C.  243.  No  mention  is  made  in  any  old 
historical  document  of  its  being  derived  from  Ceylon. 
It  is  accepted  as  being  mentioned  in  the  Chinese  herbals 
from  2700  B.  C.  to  1200  B.  C.  Many  varieties  of  the 
tree  are  found  in  India,  as  well  as  in  Ceylon,  in  which 
country,  however,  no  mention  of  cinnamon  is  made 
prior  to  the  thirteenth  century.  Cassia  and  cinnamon 
were  employed  as  spices  and  remedies,  especially  by 
the  aborigines,  and  in  the  religious  services  of  the  early 
peoples  of  the  countries  mentioned.  These  aromatic 
drugs  drifted  into  Europe  as  exceedingly  rare  and  val- 
uable products  some  time  before  the  date  of  the  East 
India  Company.  Cassia  was  one  of  the  ingredients  of 
the  embalming  mixtures  used  by  the  Egyptians  (see 
Myrrh). 

Saigon  Cinnamon  (Cinnamomum  Saigonicum) ,  is  de- 
rived from  undetermined  species  of  Cinnamomum. 
Ceylon  Cinnamon  (Cinnamomum  Zeylanicum),  from 
the  cultivated  Cinnamomum  zeylanicum.  Oil  of  Cin- 
namon, now  official  (U.  S.  P.,  1910)  as  Oleum  Cassice, 
is  a  distillate  from  Cinnamomum  Cassice. 

COCA  (The  Divine  Plant  of  the  Incas)  (Coca) 

Introduced  in  1880,  under  the  name  Erythroxylon  (Coca). 
Under  the  better  known  name  Coca  it  was  official  in  1890  and 
1900,  but  was  dropped  as  a  drug  from  the  edition  of  1910,  Co- 
caine and  Cocaine  Hydrochloride  being  here  its  only  representatives. 

Erythoxylon  Coca  is  a  small  tree  or  bush  native  to  the 
slopes  of  the  Andes  where,  especially  in  Bolivia,  large 
plantations  are  cultivated.  The  leaves  have  been  highly 


THE  COCA  COUNTRY,  COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA    No.  1     (Page  84) 
Photographed  by  John  Thomas  Lloyd. 


COCA  85 

valued,  from  the  earliest  records,  by  the  natives  of  Peru, 
Chili,  Colombia  and  Bolivia,  the  tree  being  called  "The 
Divine  Plant  of  the  Incas."  In  1569,  Monardes  (447), 
of  Seville,  published  an  article  on  the  drug,  reproduced, 
1577,  in  London.  (Dowdeswell,  [196a]).  This  is  among 
the  first  references  to  the  drug  in  print  known  to  us. 
It  was  followed  by  the  botanical  description,  by  Clusius 
(153),  in  1605. 

The  history  of  coca,  in  its  many  phases,  is  presented 
by  several  travelers  and  authors,  one  of  the  first  to  intro- 
duce it  to  Europeans  being  W.  J.  Hooker  (324),  in  his 
''Companion  to  the  Botanical  Magazine,"  London, 
1835.  Several  pages  of  this  work  are  devoted  to  the 
South  American  uses  of  coca,  the  same  being  credited 
to  Dr.  Poeppig's  "Reise  in  Chile,  Peru,  und  auf  dem 
Amazonenstrome."  From  this  historical'  contribution 
we  present  portions,  following,  pertinent  to  the  coca 
subject. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  the  more  recent  pub- 
lications treating  of  coca  is  a  large  illustrated  volume 
of  near  600  pages,  by  W.  Golden  Mortimer,  M.  D., 
(451a),  under  the  title,  "Peru,  History  of  Coca,"  New 
York,  1901.  From  this  work  we  also  gain  much  insight 
into  the  early  history  and  customs  of  the  coca  users,  as 
indicated  by  the  passages  that  follow. 

That  coca  was  honored  in  their  sacred  ceremonies  by 
the  natives  of  the  lands  producing  it,  is  evidenced  by 
the  following  "recital"  (451a)  addressed  to  the  sov- 
ereign: 

"Oh,  mighty  lord,  son  of  the  Sun  and  of  the  Incas, 
thy  fathers,  thou  who  knoweth  of  the  bounties  which 
have  been  granted  thy  people,  let  me  recall  the  blessings 
of  the  divine  Coca,  which  thy  privileged  subjects  are 


gg  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

permitted  to  enjoy  through  thy  progenitors,  the  sun, 
the  moon,  the  earth,  and  the  boundless  hills." 

A  plant  so  regarded  necessarily  fell  under  the  adverse 
criticism  of  the  devoutly  religious,  early  Spanish  ex- 
plorers, who  naturally  directed  their  efforts  against 
everything  that,  in  their  opinion,  constituted  a  part  of 
heathen  worship,  and  diverted  the  natives  from  the 
true  God.  This  is  shown  by  the  following  quotation 
from  Mortimer  (45  la) : 

"In  1569  the  Spanish  audience  at  Lima,  composed  of 
bishops  from  all  parts  of  South  America,  denounced 
Coca  because,  as  they  asserted,  it  was  a  pernicious  leaf, 
the  chewing  of  which  the  Indians  supposed  gave  them 
strength,  and  was  hence  'Un  delusio  del  demonio.'  " 

In  this  connection  the  following  quotation  will  in- 
dicate how  distasteful  are  the  methods  of  the  natives, 
even  yet,  to  those  whose  first  duty  consists  in  suppress- 
ing such  ceremonies  as  are  therein  described: 

"When  the  period  for  departure  (on  a  dangerous  jour- 
ney. L.)  actually  arrives,  the  Indians  throw  Coca  in 
the  air,  just  as  did  the  Incan  priests  of  old,  to  propitiate 
the  gods  of  the  mountains,  who,  presumably,  do  not 
wish  their  domains  invaded." 

The  native  Indian  use  of  coca  was  unquestionably 
exhibited  where  it  was  necessary  for  men  to  make  the 
most  exhausting  physical  effort,  as  the  Indian  "run- 
ners" of  the  Andes,  carrying  with  them  a  modicum  of 
food  or  other  burdens.  A  few  coca  leaves  sufficed  as  a 
hunger  pacifier,  and  upon  this  as  a  basis  the  runners 
underwent  the  most  exhausting  and  exacting  journeys. 
It  was  accepted  by  observing  travelers  that  the  leaves, 
being  chewed,  would  yield  an  abundance  of  "vital 
strength."  The  endurance  of  people  thus  employing 


COCA  87 

the  drug  is  noted  also  by  the  Jesuit  Father  Bias  Valera 
under  the  name  Cuoa.  After  observing  the  methods  of 
the  Jesuit  explorers,  he  writes  as  follows: 

"It  may  be  gathered  how  powerful  the  Cuca  is  in  its 
effect  on  the  laborer,  from  the  fact  that  the  Indians  who 
use  it  become  stronger  and  much  more  satisfied,  and 
work  all  day  without  eating." 

In  further  support  of  this  phase  of  the  coca  subject, 
Dr.  Poeppig,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
records  as  follows,  in  his  work  on  Chili  and  Peru: 

"The  miner  will  perform,  for  twelve  long  hours,  the 
formidably  heavy  work  of  the  mine,  and,  sometimes, 
even  doubles  that  period,  without  taking  any  further 
sustenance  than  a  handful  of  parched  maize,  but  every 
three  hours  he  makes  a  pause  for  the  purpose  of  chewing 
Coca  (coquear).  He  would  work  ill  and  reluctantly,  if 
the  proprietor  let  him  want  his  favorite  herb.  .  .  .  The 
same  holds  good  with  the  Indian,  who,  as  a  porter,  mes- 
senger, or  vender  of  his  own  productions,  traverses  the 
Andes  on  foot.  Merely  chewing  Coca  from  time  to 
time,  he  travels  with  a  load  weighing  one  hundred- 
weight on  his  back,  over  indescribably  rough  roads,  and 
accomplishes  frequently  ten  leagues  in  eight  hours. 
During  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  undisciplined  Pa- 
triot troops,  chiefly  consisting  of  Indians  from  the 
Sierra,  by  dint  of  ample  supplies  of  Coca  and  brandy, 
traversed  long  distances  in  a  very  short  time,  and  thus 
became  very  dangerous  to  the  Spaniards.  Where  Eu- 
ropeans would  have  halted  and  bivouacked,  the  ill-clad, 
barefooted  Indians  merely  paused,  for  a  short  interval, 
to  chew  their  Coca."  From  the  "Reise  in  Chile,  Peru," 
etc.  of  Dr.  Poeppig.  Companion  to  the  Botanical  Maga- 
zine, by  W.  J.  Hooker. 


88  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Mr.  John  Thomas  Lloyd,  an  explorer  in  the  Colom- 
bian Andes,  who  traveled  in  company  with  the  Mom- 
breros  (coca  users),  records  of  them,  1912: 

"On  this  trip  the  dozen  Indian  porters  who  carried 
our  cargoes  all  consumed  coca  unceasingly  while  on 
the  march.  After  eating  a  simple  breakfast  of  ground 
corn  porridge  ('mazamora'),  they  would  start  with 
their  heavy  packs,  weighing  from  seventy-five  to  more 
than  a  hundred  pounds,  strapped  to  their  backs.  All 
day  long  they  traveled  at  a  rapid  gait,  over  steep  moun- 
tain spurs  and  across  mucky  swamps  at  an  altitude 
that,  to  us,  without  any  load  whatever,  was  most  ex- 
hausting. On  these  trips  the  Indians  neither  rested 
anywhere  nor  ate  at  noon,  but  incessantly  sucked  their 
wads  of  coca  throughout  the  entire  day.  At  night 
they  ate  a  heavy  meal  of  either  'mazamora'  or  rice, 
sometimes  with  a  little  'panela'  (brown  sugar)  dis- 
solved in  hot  water.  Meat  they  seldom,  if  ever,  tasted. 
Then  they  lay  down  on  the  cold,  bare  ground  in  a  half- 
open  shed,  with  little  cover,  awakening  at  daybreak 
to  eat  their  breakfast  and  start  again  on  a  long  day's 
journey  over  the  rugged  mountains. 

"When  we  tried  to  buy  coca  outfits  from  our  porters, 
at  first  we  met  with  absolute  failure,  but  finally  per- 
suaded two  of  them  to  part  with  their  treasures  in 
exchange  for  tin  tobacco  boxes  and  a  small  sum  of 
money.  We  also  tried  to  buy  their  supply  of  coca 
leaves  and  lime,  but  these  they  positively  refused  to 
sell,  insisting  that  without  the  coca  they  could  not 
carry  their  packs  to  the  journey's  end. 

''These  Indians  we  found  very  pleasant,  always 
cheerful,  happy,  and  good  natured,  in  spite  of  the  fact 


COCA  USING  INDIANS  ON  CREST  OF  ANDES  MOUNTS 
COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA  No.  3    (Page  84) 

Ihotozrapbed  by  John  Thomas  Lloyd. 


COCA  89 

that  their  daily  toil  subjects  them  to  the  severest  of 
hardships  and  the  most  frugal  fare.  Barefooted  they 
travel  over  rocks  and  through  swamps,  amid  cold 
rain,  and  penetrating  mist  that  nearly  always  prevails, 
their  wages  too  insignificant  to  mention,  being  but  a 
dollar  or  two  for  the  entire  trip,  out  of  which  they 
supply  their  own  provisions  and  other  necessities. 

"Coca-using  Indians  of  Colombia  do  not  chew  the 
leaf,  but  suck  the  saliva-made  juice  from  the  huge 
boluses  of  coca  leaves  mixed  with  lime,  stored  in  the 
cheek.  So  far  as  known,  this  has  been  the  method  of 
these  people  from  the  traditional  past.  These  coca 
users  are  typical  specimens  of  perfect  physical  man- 
hood, being  muscular  and  well  formed.  Whether  this 
is  due  to  the  coca,  or  is  in  spite  of  the  coca,  is  a  question 
we  did  not  solve.  Their  food  is  simple  and  sparing, 
consisting  of  corn,  a  little  sugar,  no  fruits,  no  nuts, 
no  fish,  little  meat,  and  occasionally  beans  or  rice. 
Their  endurance  to  both  the  fatigue  of  travel  and  ex- 
posure to  the  elements  is  phenomenal.  From  early 
daylight  to  the  dusk  of  night  they  run  or  walk  rapidly. 
Then,  after  supper  (their  first  meal  since  morning), 
they  sleep  in  a  rude  'shack'  with  no  other  cover  than 
their  capes  to  protect  them  from  the  penetrating 
cold  of  the  damp  air  and  wet  ground.  The  disposi- 
tion of  these  Indians  is  exceptionally  pleasant,  they 
being  ever  genial  and  good  natured.  Not  one  sour, 
disagreeable,  mentally  unbalanced  or  wicked  coca- 
using  man  or  woman  did  we  meet. 

"During  the  passage  through  their  country,  the  only 
chronic  sickness  that  we  observed  among  them  was 
a  severe  eye  affection,  due  probably  to  the  smoke  of 


90  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

their  houses.  To  our  eyes,  this  smoke  was  unbearably 
irritating."— See  Coca,  "The  Divine  Plant  of  the  In- 
cas,"  by  John  Uri  Lloyd. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  evidence,  fortified  by  re- 
peated experiences  of  travelers,  the  world  of  scientific 
medicine  ignored,  or  even  ridiculed,  the  use  of  the  drug 
until  its  introduction  in  England  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  last  century  (about  1870)  forced  those  concerned  in 
authoritative  medicine  to  give  it  some  recognition. 
Numerous  experimentations  on  its  composition  had 
been  made,  in  1850,  by  Dr.  Weddell  and  others,  who 
(both  before  and  after  that  date)  tried  vainly  to  dis- 
cover an  energetic  constituent  of  the  drug.  It  was  at 
first  believed  that  the  leaves  owed  their  inherent  qual- 
ities (if  they  had  any,  which  was  questioned),  to  some 
volatile  principle,  a  supposition  that  proved  a  fallacy, 
other  than  in  the  discovery  of  the  volatile  base  named 
by  them  hydrine,  which  did  not  at  all  represent  coca, 
and  which  is  no  longer  mentioned.  However,  the  per- 
sistent reports  concerning  the  beneficial  use  of  coca,  and 
its  reputed  powers  as  an  empirical  substance  that  was 
creeping  into  the  use  of  practicing  physicians,  led  such 
chemists  as  Hesse,  Niemann,  Stanislas,  Martin,  Maisch, 
Lossin,  Woehler,  and  many  others,  to  repeated  chemical 
examinations  of  the  drug  and  its  qualities,  resulting  in  a 
number  of  products,  such  as  coca-wax,  coca-tannic  acid, 
and  even  of  several  alkaloidal  bases,  including  one 
named  cocaine,  this  alkaloid  being  described  in  1860  by 
Niemann,  an  assistant  of  Professor  Woehler,  of  Got- 
tingen,  Germany.  But  previously  (1855),  Gardeke  had 
given  the  name  erythroxyline  to  the  crystalline  alkaloid 
he  had  obtained.  Cocaine  is  not,  therefore,  a  recent 
discovery. 


COCA  91 

Numberless  are  the  publications  now  bearing  on  the 
chemistry  of  the  alkaloids  of  coca.  Among  them,  from 
one  by  the  chairman  of  our  committee,  a  brief  abstract 
is  as  follows: 

"In  1893,  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme  contributed  to  the 
Proceedings  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  pp. 
159-165,  a  paper  touching  briefly  the  history  of 
coca,  but  more  particularly  the  assay  of  Huanuco 
leaves  (Erythroxylon  Bolivianum)  and  Truxillo  leaves 
(Erythroxylon  Spruceanum),  Dr.  Burck  being  author- 
ity for  names.  His  excellent  micro-sections  of  the 
leaves  illustrate  graphically  the  distinctions,  summed 
up  as  follows: — 'The  distinctive  differences  to  be 
noted  are  the  apex  of  the  midrib  in  the  case  of  the 
Huanuco  leaves  and  its  absence  in  the  case  of  the 
Truxillo  leaves.' 

"In  1895  (ibid)  Dr.  Dohme  continued  the  subject 
(pp.  268-9),  demonstrating  how  alkaloidal  values  of  the 
same  drug  varied  under  different  assay  processes.  This 
phase  is  of  great  interest,  but  lies  in  the  field  of  alka- 
loidal history,  rather  than  that  of  the  crude  drug."1 

Notwithstanding  the  evidence  of  the  energy  of  coca 
on  the  South  American  Indians,  and  the  identification, 
half  a  century  ago,  of  its  now  well-known  alkaloid,  co- 
caine, coca  was  long  thereafter  considered  as  physiolog- 
ically inert,  or  as  simply  a  mild  stimulant,  like  tea.  Its 
alleged  properties  were  deemed  legendary  and  imag- 
inary, and  its  alkaloid  was  regarded  as  similar  to  caf- 
feine, both  in  constitution  and  qualities,  until  Koller, 

1  The  researches  of  Dr.  Dohme,  as  well  as  those  of  Dr.  Eberhard  (see  Ipecac,  Rham- 
nus  Purshiana,  and  other  citations  in  this  volume),  were  contributions  to  science,  under 
the  opportunities  afforded  by  the  Laboratory  of  the  firm  of  manufacturing  pharmaciste, 
Sharp  &  Dohme,  Baltimore,  Md.  This  long  established  firm  has,  since  its  foundation,  in 
the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  been  exceptionally  instrumental  in  the  advancing  of 
scientific  pharmacy.  No  better  or  more  enthusiastic  friends  to  American  pharmacy  has 
this  writer  known  than  the  founders  of  Sharp  &  Dohme,  Mr.  Louis  Dohme,  the  uncle,  and 
Mr.  Charles  Dohme,  the  father  of  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  Chairman  of  our  Committee. 


92  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

in  1884,  confounded  the  professional  world,  as  well  as 
that  of  science,  by  announcing  the  marvelous  qualities 
of  cocaine  as  a  local  anesthetic.  In  this  connection  we 
may  further  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  previous  in- 
vestigators of  coca  had  already  employed  the  physiolog- 
ical method  of  injecting  the  alkaloid  cocaine  into  the 
veins  of  the  lower  animals,  as  well  as  the  utilization  of 
other  "scientific"  methods  of  determining  its  value, 
such  laboratory  investigations  being  accepted  as  con- 
clusive evidence  of  the  fact  that  coca,  other  than  as  a 
mild  stimulant,  like  tea  or  coffee,  was  worthless  and  in- 
ert, and  that  its  alkaloid,  cocaine,  was  similar  in  effect 
to  caffeine.  Physicians  using  coca  were  made  subjects 
of  ridicule,  as  being  incapable  of  judging  a  remedy's 
qualities;  pharmacists  making  preparations  of  the  drug 
were  looked  upon  askance,  as  being  concerned  in  a 
fraud,  while  the  natives  who  employed  it  in  their  daily 
life,  as  well  as  the  travelers  who  were  impressed  by 
what  they  had  observed  of  its  effects,  were  regarded  as 
involved  in  ignorance,  or  imbued  with  superstitious 
imaginings.  Into  these  classes  were  cast  such  men  as 
Poeppig,  von  Tschudi,  Scherzer,  Stevenson,  Weddell, 
Spruce,  Markham  and  others,  both  scientists  and  ob- 
serving travelers,  who  spoke  from  personal  observation 
or  experience,  as  well  as  such  balanced  commentators 
as  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker,  who  accepted  the  energetic  action 
of  coca  as  an  established  fact.  Although  other  pessi- 
mists contributed  in  the  same  direction,  the  most  "au- 
thoritative investigations"  to  the  discredit  of  coca 
appeared  in  the  London  Lancet,  1876,  and  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Medical  Journal,  Vol.  XIX,  1873,  which  may  be 
summarized  as  follows: 
G.  F.  Dowdeswell,  B.  A.,  of  London,  England,  being 


COCA  93 

conversant  with  the  repute  of  coca  and  much  interested 
in  the  subject,  determined  to  establish  its  position  un- 
questionably, by  personal  experimentation  in  a  scien- 
tific way.  With  this  object,  he  made  a  careful  study  of 
its  record  and  reputed  action.  He  took  pains  to  credit 
by  reference  those  who  had  previously  made  reports, 
describing  in  detail  the  processes  of  the  native  coca 
users,  and  including  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Alexander 
Bennett,  1873,  (55b),  in  which  the  physiological  action 
of  cocaine  on  frogs,  mice  and  rabbits  gave  no  thera- 
peutic promise  of  individual  characteristics,  other  than 
the  suggestion  that  it  paralleled  caffeine,  theine  and 
theobromine,  Bennett's  summary  being  as  follows: 

"When  we  compare  this  cocaine  with  theine,  caffeine 
and  guarana,  we  find  that  if  it  is  not  identical  with  these 
substances,  it  is  intimately  related  to  them  in  chemical 
composition." 

The  investigator  had  not  enough  cocaine  to  give  com- 
pletely its  action  on  temperature  and  the  glandular 
secretions,  but  adds  that,  as  compared  with  caffeine, 
theine  and  so  forth,  "in  every  other  respect  cocaine  had 
similar  action,"  thus  giving  it  no  quality  of  its  own. 
(55b). 

Having  reviewed  the  literature  on  coca,  (including 
Bennett's  physiological  failures  with  cocaine),  Dowdes- 
well  next  obtained  specimens  of  the  drug,  of  unques- 
tioned quality.  He  then  interested  in  his  work  such 
authorities  as  Professor  Ringer,  who  furnished  instru- 
ments of  "perfectly  accurate  result,"  and  the  conspicu- 
ous Professor  Murrell,  of  University  College.  The 
preparations  employed  were  made  by  the  well-known 
English  chemist,  Garrard,  to  whom  Dowdeswell  refers 
as  follows: 


94  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

"All  of  these  were  well  prepared  by  Mr.  Garrard, 
of  University  College  Hospital,  who  has  taken  much 
interest  in  the  subject,  and  who  has  also  very  success- 
fully obtained  the  alkaloid  and  the  volatile  constituent 
of  the  leaf,  and  is  still  continuing  an  investigation  of  its 
pharmaceutical  properties,  for  which  his  skillful  prepa- 
rations of  other  previously  unknown  alkaloids,  as  of 
jaborandi,  eminently  qualify  him." 

The  preparations  made  by  Garrard  not  only  par- 
alleled the  processes  of  the  native  users  of  coca,  but  also 
included  others,  suggested  by  his  own  chemical  and 
pharmaceutical  knowledge.  The  experimentation  con- 
sidered, in  detail,  bodily  conditions,  rate  of  pulse,  tem- 
perature, urine,  urea  excretion,  etc.,  etc.,  as  influenced 
by  coca.  Two  detailed  tables  give  the  results,  which, 
to  the  utter  disparagement  of  coca,  Dowdeswell  sums 
up  as  follows:  (196a) 

"It  has  not  affected  the  pupil  nor  the  state  of  the 
skin;  it  has  caused  neither  drowsiness  nor  sleeplessness; 
assuredly  it  has  occasioned  none  of  those  subjective  ef- 
fects so  fervidly  described  and  ascribed  to  it  by  others — 
not  the  slightest  excitement,  not  even  the  feeling  of 
buoyancy  and  exhilaration  which  is  experienced  from 
mountain  air,  or  a  draught  of  spring  water.  This  ex- 
amination was  commenced  in  the  expectation  that  the 
drug  would  prove  important  and  interesting  physiolog- 
ically, and  perhaps  valuable  as  a  therapeutical  agent. 
This  expectation  has  been  disappointed.  Without  as- 
serting that  it  is  positively  inert,  it  is  concluded  from 
these  experiments  that  its  action  is  so  slight  as  to  pre- 
clude the  idea  of  its  having  any  value  either  thera- 
peutically  or  popularly;  and  it  is  the  belief  of  the  writer, 
from  observation  upon  the  effect  on  the  pulse,  etc.,  of 


COCA  95 

tea,  milk-and-water,  and  even  plain  water,  hot,  tepid, 
and  cold,  that  such  things  may,  at  slightly  different 
temperatures,  produce  a  more  decided  effect  than  even 
large  doses  of  Coca,  if  taken  at  about  the  temperature 
of  the  body." 

The  result  of  the  investigations  of  these  eminent 
authorities,  in  connection  with  the  physiological  ex- 
perimentations with  cocaine,  demonstrated  to  the  world 
of  science  that  this  drug  was,  at  the  very  best,  merely 
a  something  in  the  line  of  the  caffeine-bearing  stimu- 
lants, such  as  tea  and  coffee,  and,  next,  that  instead  of 
being  of  any  value  whatever,  or  of  possessing  any  in- 
herent quality  whatever,  it  was  positively  inert,  having 

"an  action  so  slight  as  to  preclude  the  idea  of  its 
having  any  value,  either  therapeutically  or  popular;" 
that  it  has  no  greater  effect  on  the  pulse  than 

"tea,  milk-and-water,  or  even  plain  water,  hot,  tepid 
and  cold;"  that  it 

"occasioned  none  of  those  subjective  effects  so  fer- 
vidly described  and  ascribed  to  it  by  others — not  the 
slightest  excitement,  nor  even  the  feeling  of  buoyancy 
and  exhilaration  which  is  experienced  from  mountain 
air,  or  a  draught  of  spring  water." 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  added  that  Professor 
Roberts  Bartholow,  M.  D.,  accepted  that  "it  acts  like 
theine  and  caffeine  as  an  indirect  nutrient,"  etc. 
(Therapeutic  Gazette,  July,  1880.)  (564.) 

Just  at  that  time  the  American  "New  Remedy" 
craze  of  the  70's  was  at  its  height.  Among  the  sub- 
stances eulogized  was  coca,  which  had  received  a  posi- 
tion in  the  Prices  Current  of  all  the  American  manu- 
facturing pharmaceutical  establishments,  as  well  as 


96  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  eulogistic  commendations  of  "country"  physicians 
in  American  medical  prints. 

Paralyzing  to  such  as  these  were  the  adverse  "au- 
thoritative" reports  concerning  the  worthlessness  and 
inertness  of  coca  (196a).  All  this,  together  with  the 
variations  in  quality  of  the  commercial  article,  which 
were  later  confirmed  by  Professor  H.  H.  Rusby,  M.  D., 
(564),  very  much  disturbed  the  talented,  careful  and 
exceptionally  conscientious  chemist,  Dr.  Edward  R. 
Squibb,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  the  leading  American 
manufacturing  pharmacist  of  that  date,  who  accepted 
the  statements  of  Dowdeswell,  to  the  discredit  of  the 
practicing  physician.  In  the  height  of  the  commercial 
demand  for  coca,  Dr.  Squibb  determined  to  sacrifice 
his  commercial  opportunities  to  his  professional  ideals, 
and  to  accept  the  provings  of  "laboratory  physiol- 
ogists," by  excluding  all  coca  preparations  from  his 
pharmaceutical  list,  commending  tea  and  coffee  in  their 
stead.  He  writes  as  follows  in  his  Ephemeris,  (610a), 
July,  1884: 

"Almost  every  purchase  (of  the  crude  drug — L.)  has 
been  made  on  mental  protest,  and  he  (Squibb)  has  been 
ashamed  of  every  pound  of  the  fluid  extract  sent  out, 
from  the  knowledge  that  it  was  of  poor  quality;  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  more  prospect  of  a  supply  of  a 
better  quality  than  there  was  this  time  last  year,  be- 
cause so  long  as  an  inferior  quality  sells  in  such  enor- 
mous quantities  at  good  prices,  the  demands  of  trade 
are  satisfied. 

"Under  this  condition  of  the  markets,  the  writer  has 
finally  decided  to  give  up  making  a  fluid  extract  of 
coca,  and  has  left  it  off  his  list,  adopting  a  fluid  extract 
of  tea  instead,  as  a  superior  substitute,  for  those  who 


COCA  MARKET;  COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA  No.  2    (Page  84) 
Photographed  by  John  Thomas  Lloyd. 


COCA  97 

may  choose  to  use  it,  and  regrets  that  this  course  was 
not  taken  a  year  ago." 

Dr.  Squibb,  however,  with  even  more  than  his  usual 
carefulness  and  desire  to  extend  professional  courtesy 
to  one  and  all,  perhaps  guided  also  by  a  latent  question- 
ing of  the  possibility  of  paralleling  the  action  of  a  drug 
in  abnormal  conditions  of  the  human  being  by  a  study 
of  the  action  of  that  drug  on  the  lower  animals,  or  on  a 
man  in  health,  refers  to  the  fact  that  "authorities  are 
often  in  error  or  opposed  in  opinion,"  fortifying  this 
statement  in  the  following  words  (610a) : 

"Conflicting  and  contradictory  testimony  from  com- 
petent authority  is  not  uncommon  in  therapeutics, 
and  the  reasons  for  it  are  well  recognized  in  the  impossi- 
bility of  an  equality  in  the  conditions  and  circumstances 
of  the  investigations,  and  hence  the  general  decision 
commonly  reached  is  upon  the  principles  of  averages." 

And  yet  the  physiological  investigations  of  Dowdes- 
well  seeming  to  be  incontrovertible,  Dr.  Squibb  adds: 

"But  there  has  been  no  observer  on  either  side  whose 
researches  have  been  anything  like  so  thorough,  so  ex- 
tended, or  so  accurate  as  those  of  Mr.  Dowdeswell. 
Indeed,  no  other  account  has  been  met  with  wherein 
the  modern  methods  of  precision  have  been  applied  to 
the  question  at  all ;  the  other  testimony  being  all  rather 
loose  and  indefinite,  often  at  second  or  third  hands,  or 
from  the  narratives  of  more  or  less  enthusiastic  trav- 
elers. But  if  Mr.  Dowdeswell's  results  be  accepted  as 
being  conclusive,  the  annual  consumption  of  40,000,000 
pounds  of  Coca,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,000,  promotes  this 
substance  to  take  rank  among  the  large  economic  blun- 
ders of  the  age." 

Now  came  the  "irony  of  fate!"    Scarcely  had  the  ink 


98  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

dried  in  the  publication  (Ephemeris)  recording  Dr. 
Squibb's  faith  in  the  results  of  the  physiological  investi- 
gations of  Bennett  and  Dowdeswell,  before  it  was  an- 
nounced in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Squibb,  dated  September  19, 
1884,  from  Dr.  Henry  D.  Noyes,  a  physician  of  New 
York  then  in  Kreuznach,  Germany,  (Ephemeris,  Nov., 
1884),  (610a),  that  a  medical  student  named  Koller,  of 
Vienna,  had  discovered  that  a  solution  of  hydrochlo- 
rate  of  cocaine  was  possessed  of  marvelous  qualities  as 
a  local  anesthetic. 

This  letter  of  Dr.  Noyes  was  immediately  given  a 
setting,  or  reference  was  made  thereto,  in  every  phar- 
maceutical and  medical  journal  of  America.  Such  an 
authority  as  Dr.  D.  Hayes  Agnew,  of  Philadelphia,  wrote 
as  follows  in  the  Medical  Record,  October,  1884  (418a) : 

"We  have  today,  (October  18,  1884),  used  the  agent 
in  our  clinic  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
with  most  astonishing  and  satisfactory  results.  If  fur- 
ther use  should  prove  to  be  equally  satisfactory,  we  will 
be  in  possession  of  an  agent  for  the  prevention  of  suffer- 
ing in  ophthalmic  operations  of  inestimable  value." 

Came  also  leading  editorials  in  the  various  publica- 
tions on  medicine  and  pharmacy,  of  which  that  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Parsons,  editor  of  the  Drug- 
gists' Circular,  is  typical.  From  this  we  quote  (199a) : 

"For  the  past  month  American  medical  journals  have 
fairly  bristled  with  reports  from  various  hospital  sur- 
geons, and  it  is  pleasing  to  note  that,  on  the  whole,  the 
claims  first  made  for  this  remedy  have  been  sustained. 
It  seems  to  be  proved  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the 
application  to  the  eye  of  a  few  drops  of  a  2  or  4  per  cent 
solution  of  this  salt  will  produce  a  more  or  less  com- 
plete, but  transient,  insensibility  to  pain,  with  enlarge- 


COCA  99 

ment  of  the  pupil.  Operations  upon  the  conjunctiva 
and  cornea  ordinarily  requiring  the  use  of  chloroform 
or  ether  have  been  performed  upon  patients  conscious 
of  everything  being  done,  but  saved  from  pain  by  the 
application  of  a  weak  aqueous  solution  of  this  salt.  In 
several  operations  for  removal  of  hard  cataract,  the 
patients  complained  of  no  pain  whatever,  the  entire 
conjunct! val  surface  being  insensible  to  repeated  pinch- 
ings  with  the  surgeon's  forceps.  The  only  sensation 
described  was  that  of  'numbness  and  hardness.' 
After  a  time  the  eye  returns  to  its  normal  sensitiveness, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  troublesome  local  after- 
effects." 

Let  it  be  noted  that  in  the  beginning  cocaine  was 
commended  in  operations  on  the  cornea  of  the  eye,  its 
latest  application  in  minor  operations  in  surgery,  den- 
tistry, and  elsewhere,  being  at  that  time  not  even 
theoretically  anticipated. 

With  a  spirit  that  can  not  be  too  highly  commended, 
Dr.  Squibb,  accepting  the  facts  of  the  present,  now 
threw  all  his  efforts  into  a  new  investigation  of  coca 
and  its  now  famous  alkaloid,  with  such  success  that  his 
process  of  manufacture  of  cocaine  is  yet  a  standard, 
and  his  writings  on  this  alkaloid  yet  authority.  Occu- 
pying many  pages  of  his  Ephem.eris,  1884-5,  they  stand 
as  a  lasting  memorial  to  the  lofty  methods  of  this  ex- 
ceptionally fair  man,  who  took  pleasure  in  publicly 
correcting  an  error,  and  whose  every  record  in  American 
pharmacy  is  monumental. 

The  discovery  of  the  anesthetic  qualities  of  coca 
marked  the  beginning  of  an  epoch  in  medication 
whose  story,  in  connection  with  the  past,  pleads 
irresistibly  for  tolerance  of  thought  and  action 


100  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

toward  men  who  know  that  which  they  know  by  reason 
of  personal  experience,  and  the  art  of  empirical  obser- 
vation. Perhaps  in  no  other  instance  has  the  al- 
most hopeless  cry  for  recognition  of  the  facts  developed 
by  empiricism  been  more  prominently  illustrated,  than 
by  the  story  of  this  drug.  One  of  the  greatest  blessings 
to  humanity  when  properly  used,  and  one  of  its  greatest 
curses  when  used  indiscreetly,  coca  was  for  nearly  three 
centuries  neglected  by  men  of  science,  and  subjugated 
by  professional  prejudices.  At  last  the  eminent  bota- 
nist and  pharmacologist,  Henry  H.  Rusby,  M.  D., 
(564),  was  led  to  undertake  a  journey  to  South  America 
in  behalf  of  science.  In  that  journey  the  study  of  coca 
was  a  dominant  factor,  and  for  founding  that  enter- 
prise the  pharmaceutical  house  of  Parke,  Davis  &  Com- 
pany, of  Detroit,  deserves  great  credit.  The  result  of 
Dr.  Rusby's  study  is  presented  in  the  Therapeutic  Ga- 
zette, (634),  1886  and  1888,  in  an  exceptionally  valuable 
treatise  that  is  today  not  less  important  than  when 
contributed  by  Dr.  Rusby.1 

Needless  is  it  to  do  more  t?han  refer  to  the  marvelous 
reaction  that  followed  Koller's  discovery  of  the  power 
of  cocaine  as  a  local  anesthetic.  A  library  would  be  re- 
quired to  hold  the  works  eulogistically  devoted  to  the 
new  discovery.  A  volume  would  be  required  merely 
to  print  the  names  of  the  enthusiastic  writers  on 
coca,  formerly  so  discredited. 

In  closing  this  subject  to  which,  by  reason  of  its  im- 
portance, we  have  given  so  much  space,  let  us  do  tardy 
justice  to  the  prophetic  words  of  the  poet,  who  so  often 
foresees  that  which  others  either  neglect  altogether,  cr 

1  It  pleases  us  much  to  be  able  to  add  that  since  the  above  was  written,  the  H.  K. 
Mulford  Company,  Philadelphia,  has  arranged  for  Dr.  Rusby  to  make  another  explora- 
tion trip  to  South  America  under  their  auspices.  Details  are  not  as  yet  available  to  us. 


COCA  101 

discredit.  Nearly  three  hundred  years  ago  the  poet 
Cowley  (170a),  in  his  Sex  Libri  Plantarum,  published 
in  London  in  1672,  not  only  mentions  coca,  known  to 
him  only  through  the  tales  of  travelers,  but  in  terms 
that  today  need  no  apology,  sets  forth  that  marvelous 
drug.  The  passage  is  so  remarkable  that  we  can  not 
resist  placing  it  before  our  readers,  (the  translation 
from  the  original  Latin  of  Cowley  being  made  by  Miss 
Margaret  Stewart) .  The  poet,  describing  a  feast  of  the 
gods,  includes  among  the  deities  both  those  of  the  Old 
World  familiar  in  mythology,  and  the  less  well-known 
deities  of  the  New  World.  Venus  presides  over  the 
feast,  and  Bacchus  offers  wine  to  Omelochilus,  a  South 
American  deity.  Pachamama,  (the  "skin  mother"),  is 
a  leading  deity  of  the  Incas.  The  Quitoita,  the  Vicugni, 
and  the  Paci  are  tribes  now  obscurely  known.  The 
translation  is  almost  strictly  literal,  but  in  a  few  lines 
the  sense  requires  a  somewhat  free  rendering.  Several 
editions  of  Cowley's  "Book  of  Plants"  are  on  the 
shelves  of  the  Lloyd  Library.  The  one  from  which  the 
translation  is  made  was  printed  in  London,  1678.  The 
passage  is  as  follows: 

EULOGY  OF  COCA 

From  Cowley's  Sex  Libri  Plantarum,  1672 
(Translation) 

The  vine  departs;  and  all  the  deities  of  the  Old 
World  applaud,  and  with  purpled  hands  seize  the  clus- 
tered grapes.  Bacchus,  in  jesting  mood,  brings  a  gen- 
erous cup,  pressed  from  many  grapes,  to  Omelochilus. 
"Come,  drink,  comrade,"  said  he.  "If  thou  dost  taste 
this  wine,  no  other  of  the  gods  will  be  more  fit  than  thou 
to  tempt  the  crude  appetites  of  the  cannibals." 


102  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

But  Omelochilus,  not  accustomed  to  the  acid  Grecian 
wine,  drinking  it,  rages  in  frantic  wrath,  and  would 
doubtless  repay  the  jest  with  blows,  but  fears  the  well- 
known  strength  and  courage  of  the  European  deity. 
Therefore,  (to  be  quits  with  his  tormentor. — S.)  he 
bids  the  fruits  advance  to  strife  less  cruel.  They  all 
stand  forth  in  beautiful  array,  displaying  their  various 
products,  and  like  Amazons  they  advance,  with  pictured 
armor. 

First  in  line,  dishonored  from  lack  of  fruit,1  stands 
Coca,  a  small  tree,  gleaming  with  slender  stem.  And 
Venus  scoffs.  "Truly,  the  race  of  American  husband- 
men have  chosen  with  little  judgment,  coming  into  a 
contest  as  regards  fertility  with  a  dwarf  eunuch  as 
their  leader."  The  gods  shout  with  laughter.  But 
Mother  Pachamama  rebukes  the  bold  goddess,  and  de- 
fends her  loved  Coca.  "How  greatly  dost  thou  err, 
Cytherea!  Truly,  the  lustful  fertility  of  lovers  is  alone 
known  to  thee.  Here,  thou  art  a  bad  judge.  My 
realms,  lacking  sex,  are  to  thee  an  unknown  country. 
Beyond  all  others,  everywhere,  the  land  is  fertile.  This 
tree,  at  which  you  scoff,  is  perennially  fertile,  and  ever 
swells  with  unnumbered  fruits.  Do  you  still  laugh? 
See  how  full  of  leaves  it  is!  In  every  leaf  it  bears  a  fruit. 
Nor  will  these  leaves  yield  in  usefulness  to  any  fruits, 
from  any  tree.  These,  by  the  wonderful  gift  of  Pac- 
chamacus  Virococha,  (who  was  moved  to  pity  by  the 
coming  hardships  of  the  land,  reduced  to  poverty  be- 
cause of  its  too  great  wealth),  remaining  for  a  time  in  the 
mouth,  the  juice  trickling  thence  continuously  to  the 
stomach,  restore  the  weak,  made  languid  by  long  con- 

1  Cowley  was  evidently  unaware  of  the  fact  that  the  shrub  coca  bears  a  creamy  white 
flower,  and  a  berry  somewhat  like  a  small  cranberry,  red., when  immature,  but  darkening  to 
nearly  black. 


COCCUS  103 

tinued  hunger  and  lengthened  toil,  and  give  back  vigor 
to  the  limbs  and  strength  to  the  weak  body,  tottering 
under  its  burden,  in  a  manner  such  as  ye,  Bacchus  and 
Ceres,  deities  both,  could  never  do.  The  Quitoita, 
carrying  three  of  these  as  supplies,  for  their  journey, 
will  sometimes  endure  for  twice  three  days,  and  feasting 
abundantly  upon  these  leaves,  will  traverse  the  dreadful 
Andes,  a  frightful  land,  situated  among  the  highest 
clouds,  the  home  of  winds  and  rain  and  winter  storm, 
and  likewise  thine,  brave  Coca,  whom  the  warlike  god- 
dess Venus  derides  as  an  insignificant  leader!  Nor 
shalt  thou  be  less  esteemed  for  thy  admirable  quali- 
ties, illustrious  Coca,  than  for  thy  services  to  man- 
kind. The  merchant  fears  not  to  seek  thee  here,  to  bear 
thee  hence.  Yearly  he  loads  the  groaning  Vicugni  and 
Paci  in  countless  numbers  with  thy  leaves,  bringing  a 
pleasing  commerce  to  the  wretched  world." 

Thus  speaks  the  mother  Pachamama,  her  skin 
painted  with  numberless  figures,  and  with  a  nod  bids 
Hovia  to  advance,  Hovia,  bearing  fruits  stony  and 
despised,  but  ranking  next  in  value  to  those  of  Coca, 
though  of  different  kind. 

COCCUS  (Cochineal) 

Mentioned  first  in  1830  (New  York)  edition.  Official  in  all 
following  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia. 

The  cochineal  insect,  Coccus  cacti,  is  native  to  Mexico 
and  tropical  America,  where  it  feeds  on  favored  species 
of  cactus.  These  insects  were  thence  imported  into  the 
Canary  Islands,  where  they  are  now  raised  in  large 
numbers,  as  well  as  in  the  West  Indies  and  other  coun- 
tries. They  are  sources  of  great  profit  to  the  Mexicans, 
who,  so  far  as  known,  have  always  been  acquainted 


104  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

with  their  quality  of  imparting  a  red  color  to  confec- 
tionery and  pastry,  for  which  purpose,  (and  as  the 
source  of  carmine),  they  are  still  chiefly  employed. 
In  domestic  medicine,  this  drug  has  been  commended  in 
whooping  cough  and  neuralgic  affections,  but  it  has 
never  been  seriously  considered  by  the  medical  pro- 


COLCHICI  CORMUS  ET  SEMEN 
(Colchicum,  Root  and  Seed) 

Colchicum  Root  is  official  in  all  editions  of  the  £7.  S.  P.    The 
1840  edition  first  mentions  Colchicum  Seed. 

Colchicum  (Colchicum  autumnale)  was  known  in 
very  early  days,  Dioscorides  (194)  mentioning  its  poi- 
sonous properties.  It  was  used  as  a  rheumatic  or  gout 
remedy  by  the  Arabians,  as  noted  in  the  writings  of 
Tragus  (650),  1552,  who  warns  his  readers  against  its 
use  in  gout.  It  was  employed  empirically  in  domestic 
English  medicine,  but  was  in  disfavor  with  the  medical 
profession,  being  called  by  them  Colchicum  pernicio- 
sum,  and  considered  "very  hurtfull  to  the  stomacke." 
Wedel  (672),  in  1718,  held  colchicum  in  great  disfavor, 
as  indicated  by  the  following  quotation:  "Velut  in  fame 
habitum  et  damnatum  fuit  colchicum,  indignum  habitum 
inter  herbas  medicas  vel  officinales."  (Not  worthy  of 
being  classed  among  medicinal  herbs.) 

Colchicum  was  mentioned  in  the  London  Pharma- 
copeia, second  edition,  1618,  and  was  given  an  occa- 
sional place  in  subsequent  editions,  but  was  omitted 
altogether  in  the  editions  between  1650  and  1788,  after 
which  time,  owing  to  the  investigations  of  Storck,  (617), 
it  was  again  given  an  authoritative  place. 


COLOCYNTHIS  105 

COLOCYNTHIS  (Colocynth,  Bitter  Apple) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Description:  Persons  familiar  with  the  common 
watermelon  vine  need  no  description  of  the  plant  which 
produced  colocynth  apple,  Citrullns  Colocynthis,  which 
very  closely  resembles  a  watermelon  vine  bearing  a 
small,  hard  fruit  with  a  bitter  pulp.  Naudin,  a  French 
botanist,  succeeded  in  crossing  the  colocynth  vine  and 
the  watermelon,  producing  fertile  seed,  thus  demon- 
strating that  they  are  essentially  the  same  species. 
Remarkable  is  the  relationship  that  exists  between  not 
only  this  plant  and  the  watermelon,  but  other  plants 
belonging  to  the  Gourd  family,  such  as  the  pumpkin, 
the  squash,  the  melons  and  the  cucumber.  In  the  latter 
plant  we  also  find  a  cathartic  principle,  similar  to  that 
of  the  colocynth.  The  difference  between  the  two 
genera,  citrullus  and  cucumis,  is  very  slight.  The 
former  has  solitary  sterile  flowers  and  branched  ten- 
drils, the  latter  has  clustered  sterile  flowers  and  simple 
tendrils. 

The  colocynth  plant  is  a  native  of  arid  soils.  It  has 
a  large,  fleshy,  perennial  root,  which  sends  out  slender, 
tough,  angular,  scabrid  vine-like  stems.  These  usually 
lie  on  the  ground,  for  want  of  something  upon  which  to 
climb,  but  if  opportunity  presents,  they  climb  over 
shrubs  and  herbs  by  means  of  axillary  branching  ten- 
drils. The  leaves  are  angular,  lobed,  and  are  almost 
the  exact  duplicate  of  watermelon  leaves.  The  fruit 
is  globular,  smooth,  with  a  hard  but  thin  rind,  some- 
thing like  a  gourd.  It  is  filled  with  a  soft,  white  pulp, 
in  which  are  imbedded  numerous  seed.  The  pulp  is 
the  part  used  in  medicine.  The  bitter  juice  has  been 


106  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

in  Arabian  literature  the  text  for  a  man's  disposition. 
Thus,  Al  Dalhamah  is  described  as  a  bitter  gourd  (colo- 
cynth),  a  viper,  a  calamity.  (Burton,  Arabian  Nights, 
Vol.  II,  p.  78.) 

The  colocynth  plant  occupies  the  vast  area  extending 
from  the  west  coast  of  Northern  Africa  (Senegambia, 
Morocco,  and  the  Cape  Verde  Islands),  eastward 
through  the  Sahara,  Egypt,  Arabia,  Persia,  Beluchistan 
and  through  India,  as  far  as  the  Coromandel  Coast 
and  Ceylon,  touching  northward  the  Mediterranean 
and  Caspian  Seas.  At  the  Red  Sea,  near  Kosseir,  it 
occurs  hi  immense  quantities  (239,  240).  It  is  also 
found  here  and  there  in  Southern  European  countries, 
e.  g.,  Spain  and  the  islands  of  the  Grecian  archipelago. 
Isolated  specimens  occur  in  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
Japan,  and  Sicily,  (57),  and  even  from  our  own  hemi- 
sphere we  have  recent  reports  of  its  successful  cultiva- 
tion, on  a  small  scale.1  It  is  suggested  that  birds  of 
passage  have  much  to  do  with  the  distribution  of  the 
seed. 

In  the  island  of  Cyprus  the  raising  of  colocynth  has 
been  a  source  of  revenue  since  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  till  the  breaking  out  of  the  world's  war  it  still 
formed  an  article  of  export  from  that  country. 

Colocynth  is  a  characteristic  desert  plant.  Hooker 
and  Ball  (323a),  met  with  it  in  the  oasis  of  Sheshuaua 
in  Morocco,  and  state  that  in  northern  Africa  it  rarely 
approaches  the  sea  shore.  The  fruit  of  colocynth  is 
used  in  Morocco  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  woolen 
clothing  from  moths,  but  according  to  the  testimony 
of  observers,  the  purgative  quality  of  the  drug  does  not 

1  Mr.  C.  B.  Allaire,  founder  of  Allaire,  Woodward  &  Co.,  now  a  resident  of  San  Antonio, 
New  Mexico,  has  investigated  the  native  colocynths  of  the  western  deserts  with  a  view  to 
their  introduction  to  American  medicine* 


COLOCYNTHIS  107 

seem  to  have  been  known  to  (at  least  valued  by)  the 
native  doctors. 

Volkens  (664a)  enumerates  Citrullus  Colocynthis, 
Schrader,  (Cucumis  Colocynthis,  L.),  among  the  plants 
growing  in  the  Egypto-Arabian  deserts,  pointing  to  its 
exceedingly  rapid  development,  especially  the  fruit, 
which  attains  a  diameter  of  ten  centimeters.  After 
the  vine  has  withered  away,  the  fruits  may  be  seen 
lying  in  the  sands  of  the  desert,  ten  to  fifteen  in  num- 
ber, about  each  plant.1  Volkens  saw  the  plant  in 
bloom  in  May  as  well  as  in  December,  and  reports  that 
when  it  is  torn  from  the  ground  it  withers  in  a  short 
time,  owing,  he  thinks,  to  the  delicacy  of  the  micro- 
scopical structure  of  its  leaves. 

A  brief  account  of  the  growth  of  colocynth  in  Pales- 
tine by  E.  S.  Wallace  has  more  recently  appeared  in  the 
United  States  Consular  Reports,  1895,  from  which  we 
abstract  points  of  interest  as  follows: 

The  fruit  grows  abundantly  between  the  mountains 
of  Palestine  and  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, from  the  city  of  Gaza  northward  to  Mount 
Carmel.  The  plant  thrives  without  any  attention 
whatever  on  the  part  of  man,  since  the  climate  and  soil 
are  all-sufficient  for  its  perfect  growth — the  natural 
requirements  being  merely  a  sandy  soil,  warm  climate, 
and  little  moisture.  The  fruit  which  is  known  in  com- 
merce as  the  Turkish  colocynth  is  collected  by  the 
native  peasants  (fellaheen)  in  July  and  August,  before 
it  is  quite  ripe,  and  is  sold  to  Jaffa  dealers,  who  peel  it 
and  dry  the  pulp  in  the  sun.  It  is  then  molded  into 
irregular  small  balls,  packed  in  boxes  and  exported, 
mostly  via  England.  The  average  annual  shipments 

1  Travelers  through  the  western  desert  are  continually  meeting  these  "American  Colo- 
cynth" apples  in  scattered  groups,  no  vine  appearing. 


108  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

are  stated  in  the  consular  reports  to  be  (1895),  ten 
thousand  pounds,  an  amount  considerably  reduced  in 
later  years,  due,  as  we  learn  from  another  source,  to  the 
export  tax.  The  report  suggests  that  probably  colo- 
cynth  may  be  profitably  cultivated  in  certain  parts  of 
the  United  States.  In  this  connection  we  may  point 
to  Professor  L.  E.  Sayre's  paper  on  American  Colo- 
cynth,  (Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1894),  (17b),  and  the  culti- 
vation of  the  drug  in  Montreal,  as  reported  in  1895  by 
Prof.  T.  D.  Reed  (Montreal  Pharm.  Journ.,  1896). 
(448a).  Mr.  C.  B.  Allaire,  founder  of  Allaire,  Wood- 
ward &  Company,  Peoria,  Illinois,  investigated  the 
"bitter  apple"  that,  native  to  the  American  desert,  is 
cathartic  in  action.  For  reasons  commercial  rather 
than  therapeutic,  this  drug  was  not  available  as  a  com- 
petitor of  imported  colocynth. 

The  drug  is  imported  from  Spain,  Trieste,  Smyrna, 
Mogador,  and  elsewhere. 

CONIUM  (Hemlock) 

All  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  excepting  that  of  1910,  mention 
Conium,  but  they  vary  as  concerns  the  part  to  be  used.  The 
early  editions,  including  the  Philadelphia  edition  of  1830,  mention 
the  leaves,  only,  of  Conium  maculatum,  while  the  New  York  edi- 
tion of  1830  mentions  "  The  Leaves  and  Seeds.'J  The  1840  edition 
goes  back  to  the  leaves,  while  that  of  1850  is  the  first  to  make 
official  "The  fruit  of  Conium  maculatum."  The  1860  edition 
goes  back  to  "The  leaves  of  conium,"  and  in  1870  we  find  two 
divisions,  Conii  Folia  and  Conii  Fructus,  Conium  Seed,  the  latter 
being  described  as  "The  full-grown  fruit  of  Conium  maculatum, 
gathered  while  yet  green  and  carefully  dried."  The  Pharma- 
copeias of  1880  and  1890  retain  this  description,  as  does  that  of 
1900,  the  wording  being  slightly  changed,  as  follows:  "The  full- 
grown  but  unripe  fruit  of  Conium  maculatum,  carefully  dried 
and  preserved."  The  edition  of  1910  makes  no  mention  of 
Conium. 

Conium  maculatum  is  native  to  Asia  Minor  and  the 
islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  It  has  been  naturalized 


CONVALLARIA  109 

in  North  and  South  America  and  throughout  England 
and  other  similar  locations.  It  was  known  to  the 
Greeks,  who  are  said  to  have  used  it  to  execute  crimi- 
nals. Tradition  has  it  that  a  decoction  of  this  plant 
was  the  drug  (^OP^KOV)  drunk  by  Socrates  (334). 
Conium  was  long  known  under  the  name  Cicuta,  but  to 
avoid  confusion  with  Cicuta  virosa,  Linnaeus  (385),  in 
1737,  restored  its  classical  name,  Conium  maculatum, 
or  poison  hemlock,  the  word  hemlock  being  Saxon, 
meaning  leek  of  the  border,  or  shore.  Storck  (617),  of 
Vienna,  in  1760,  introduced  conium  into  medicine. 

CONVALLARIA  (Lily  of  the  Valley) 

Named  in  but  two  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  those  of  1890  and 
1900. 

Lily  of  the  Valley,  Convallaria  majalis,  is  recorded 
as  one  of  the  earliest  domestic  remedies,  being  accepted 
by  Dr.  Squibb  (610a)  as  "continuously  used  in  medicine 
for  several  hundred  years"  (Ephemeris,  January,  1884). 
In  The  British  Medical  Journal,  November,  1883, 
Dr.  Edward  Drummond,  of  Rome,  states  that  in  a  book 
of  Commentaries  on  the  Materia  Medico,  of  Dioscorides, 
Venice,  1621,  Dr.  Pietro  Andrea  Matthioli  (414) 
speaks  as  follows  of  its  use  in  cardiac  diseases: 

"The  Germans  use  Lily  of  the  Valley  to  strengthen 
the  heart,  the  brain,  and  the  spiritual  parts,  and  also 
give  it  in  palpitation,  vertigo,  epilepsy,  and  apoplexy, 
etc." 

This  article  led  Dr.  Squibb,  who  had  also  received 
some  private  information  in  a  letter  "from  a  very  care- 
ful and  close  observer,"  to  favor  the  drug  as  a  hopeful 
remedy  that,  in  specific  and  restricted  directions,  would 
be  better  employed  than  digitalis.  To  such  an  extent 


HO  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

was  Dr.  Squibb  impressed  in  its  favor  as  to  lead  him  to 
write,  (1879) : 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  revision  committee  will 
recognize  it  in  the  forthcoming  issue  of  the  U.  8.  Phar- 
macopeia.11 

The  commendations  of  Dr.  Squibb  were  probably 
instrumental  in  obtaining  for  convallaria  this  honor, 
for  in  1900  it  obtained  official  recognition. 

In  Russia,  convallaria  was  investigated  by  the  medi- 
cal profession  as  early  as  1880,  having  long  before  been 
used  in  dropsy  by  the  people.  About  1883  it  became 
fashionable  elsewhere,  being  generally  commended  as  a 
substitute  for  digitalis  in  certain  specific  conditions. 

A  study  of  the  chemistry  of  convallaria  antedated 
its  use  in  professional  medicine,  for  in  1858  G.  F.  Walz 
published  an  analysis  in  the  N.  Jahrbuchf.  Pharm.,  de- 
scribing two  "most  important  constituents,"  viz.,  con- 
vallarin  and  convallamarin.  He  states  that  his  experi- 
ments were  made  long  before  their  publication.  It  is 
to  be  seen  that  the  empirical  use  of  convallaria  pre- 
vailed centuries  before  its  employment  as  a  remedy  by 
the  licensed  profession  of  medicine,  (1883),  and  that 
the  chemist  also  anticipated  its  probable  employment 
in  therapy. 

COPAIBA  (COPAIFERA  OPFICINALIS) 

(Copaiba)    Copaifera  Langsdorffii 

Official  in  every  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  and  including  1910, 
which  makes  official  the  oleoresin  derived  from  South  American 
species  of  Copaiba. 

On  the  spelling  of  the  name  of  this  drug  we  quote 
from  a  private  letter  from  Dr.  Charles  Rice  (548a), 
New  York,  who  for  several  decades  was  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Revision  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia: 


COPAIBA  HI 

"I  can  not  refer  to  Desfontaines'  original  (Mem.  Mus. 
Paris,  VII,  1821),  (377 ),  but  to  judge  from  the  Kew  Index 
and  some  other  authorities,  Desfontaines  spelled  the 
species  name  Lansdorfii.  And  from  Desfontaines  the 
mistake  passed  into  many  succeeding  books.  Even 
Bentley  and  Trimen  took  up  the  mistake,  particularly 
emphasizing  that  Langsdorfii  is  wrong.  The  mistake 
was  pointed  out  long  ago  in  the  Pharmaceutical  Jour- 
nal, IX,  (1879),  and  also  by  Fliickiger  in  Phar- 
macographia,  (2d.  ed.,  p.  228,  footnote). 

"Some  of  the  botanical  authors  who  happened  to  know 
better,  corrected  the  mistake  without  making  any  re- 
marks. Thus,  for  instance,  Baillon  has  it  right  in  all 
his  works,  for  example,  in  Histoire  des  Plantes,  II,  163; 
also,  Rosenthal  in  his  Synopsis  Plantarum  Diaphori- 
carum,  p.  1046,  etc.  They  write  Langsdorffii  (with  g 
and  two  f's). 

"George  Heinrich,  Freiherr  von  Langsdorff,  was  born 
on  April  18,  1773,  at  Wollstein  in  Rhenish  Hesse, 
studied  medicine  in  Gottingen,  then  went  to  Portugal, 
where  he  remained  from  1797  to  1803.  He  then  partici- 
pated in  Krusenstern's  Russian  exploring  expedition, 
after  which  he  became  Russian  charge*  d'affaires  in 
Brazil.  In  1831  he  returned  to  Germany  and  died  at 
Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau  on  June  29,  1852.  He  wrote 
an  account  of  Krusenstern's  expedition,  under  the 
title,  'Bemerkungen  auf  einer  Reise  urn  die  Welt/ 
2  vols.  Frankfurt  am  Main,  1812." 

Copaiba  (popularly  known  as  Balsam  of  Copaiba), 
is  obtained  from  South  America,  principally  from 
Brazil  and  Venezuela,  being  produced  by  numerous 
species  of  the  genus  copaifera.  This  genus  belongs  to 
the  suborder  of  caesalpiniaae,  of  the  vast  order  of  Legum- 


112  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

inosoe,  and  differs  from  the  ordinary  type  of  the  order, 
as  we  usually  know  it,  in  having  more  regular  flowers 
(papilionaceous),  resembling  in  this  respect  our  honey- 
locust  (Gleditschia  triacanthos) ,  and  coffee-nut  (Gym- 
nodadus  dioica)  tree. 

The  various  species  of  copaifera  growing  in  tropical 
America  are  usually  small  trees  (sometimes  shrubs). 

Fliickiger  traced  the  record  of  what  is  probably  the 
first  printed  statement  regarding  a  resiniferous  tree 
other  than  the  pine,  dating  back  to  the  last  decade  of 
the  fifteenth  century.  He  quotes  from  Michael  Herr, 
"Die  Neue  Welt  der  Landschaften  und  Insulen," 
Strassburg,  1534,  which  contains  a  report  made  by 
Petrus  Martys  of  Anghiera  to  Pope  Leo  X,  wherein 
this  tree  is  mentioned  under  the  name  copei. 

The  next  available  record  dates  from  a  publication 
of  the  year  1625,  wherein  a  Portuguese  monk,  probably 
Manoel  Tristaon  (65 la),  of  the  convent  of  Bahia,  con- 
tributes an  extensive  chapter  on  Brazil  and  its  products. 
On  page  1308,  immediately  following  the  description 
of  Cabueriba  (or  Peru  balsam  tree),  he  says:  "Cupayba. 
For  wounds.  Cupyaba  is  a  fig  tree,  commonly  very 
high,  straite  and  big;  it  hath  much  oile,  within;  for  to 
get  it  they  cut  the  tree  in  the  middest,  where  it  hath 
the  vent,  and  there  it  hath  this  oil  in  so  great  abundance 
that  some  of  them  doe  yield  a  quarterne  of  oile  and 
more;  it  is  very  clear  of  the  color  of  oile;  it  is  much  set 
by  for  wounds,  and  taketh  away  all  the  skarre.  It 
serveth  also  for  lights  and  burne  well;  the  beasts  know- 
ing the  vertue  thereof  doe  come  and  rubbe  themselves 
thereat.  There  are  great  store,  the  wood  is  good  for 
nothing." 

The  first  explicit  description  and  illustration  of  one 


COPAIBA  113 

of  the  trees  yielding  copaiba  is  to  be  found  in  the  joint 
work  of  Piso  and  Marcgrav  (511),  (1648),  whose  state- 
ments form  the  basis  of  the  subsequent  literature  on  the 
subject.  In  this  connection  it  appears  rather  remark- 
able that  the  Pharmacopeia  Amstelodamensis,  sixth 
edition,  1630,  antedating  this  publication,  distinctly 
mentions  Balsam  copce  yvce.  Some  of  the  statements  of 
Piso  and  Marcgrav  have  given  rise  to  discussion,  the 
fact  that  Piso  figured  and  described  the  flowers  with 
five  sepals,  whereas  they  are  now  known  to  bear  only 
four,  being  one  of  the  points.  The  pod,  however,  is 
figured  and  described  correctly,  and  the  statement  is 
made  that  it  contains  an  edible  nut,  which  the  monkeys 
of  the  forest  are  very  fond  of  eating.  As  regards  the 
mode  of  collecting  the  balsam,  Piso  relates  that  an  in- 
cision is  made  through  the  bark  deep  into  the  pith,  at 
the  season  of  the  full  moon,  which  causes  such  an  abun- 
dant flow  of  fatty  and  oily  liquid  that  twelve  pounds 
may  exude  in  three  hours.  In  case  no  oil  should  appear, 
the  opening  is  at  once  closed  with-  wax  or  clay,  and 
after  two  weeks  the  yield  is  sufficient  to  make  up  for 
the  delay.  The  fact  that  the  resiniferous  ducts  in  these 
trees  often  attain  a  diameter  of  one  inch,  as  has  been 
observed  more  recently  by  Karsten,  seems  to  be  quite 
in  harmony  with  the  statement  regarding  the  abundant 
yield.  It  is  also  related  that  frequently  the  balsam 
accumulates  in  these  ducts  and  exerts  pressure  enough 
upon  the  enclosing  wall  to  burst  the  tree  with  a  loud 
report.  According  to  Piso,  the  copaiba  tree  is  not  very 
frequent  in  the  Province  of  Pernambuco,  but  thrives 
luxuriantly  in  the  Island  of  Maranhao,  which,  he  says, 
furnishes  the  balsam  of  commerce  in  great  quantit" 
He  also  enumerates  the  many  medicinal  virtues  ^r 


114  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

balsam,  making  the  curious  statement  that  its  healing 
virtues  are  also  experienced  as  an  efficient  means  to 
check  the  flow  of  blood  in  the  Jewish  practice  of  circum- 
cision. 

Labat  (365),  reports  that  in  1696  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  for  the  first  time  the  tree  yielding 
copaiba  in  the  Island  of  Guadeloupe.  He  relates  in 
detail  the  manner  of  collecting  the  balsam,  which  he 
calls  huik  de  copau.  The  vessels  in  which  the  balsam 
is  collected  are  made  of  the  fruit  of  the  calabash,  a  kind 
of  gourd.  The  collection,  he  states,  takes  place  about 
three  months  after  the  rainy  season;  that  is,  in  March 
for  the  countries  north  of  the  equator,  and  in  September 
for  the  countries  south  of  this  line.  The  balsam,  he 
states,  closes  all  kinds  of  wounds  except  those  inflicted 
by  gunshot.  He  declares  it  to  be  a  powerful  febrifuge, 
having  been  used  with  almost  marvelous  effect  in  the 
fever  epidemics  at  Rennes  and  Nantes  in  1719. 

Nic.  Jos.  Jacquin  (338a),  a  noted  Viennese  botanist 
who  traveled  in  the  West  Indies  in  Linnaeus'  time,  first 
observed  the  tree  yielding  copaiba  in  cultivation  in  the 
village  of  Le  Carbet  at  Martinique,  and  subsequently 
(1760  and  1765),  described  it  under  the  name  of  Co- 
paiva  offidnalis.  He  states  that  this  tree  was  indig- 
enous to  the  continent,  where  it  grows  frequently 
around  the  town  of  Tolu  near  Carthagena,  promis- 
cuously among  trees  yielding  balsams  of  Tolu  and  Peru. 
Jacquin  described  the  flower  of  this  tree  as  having  four 
petals,  and  the  calyx  as  being  nonexistent;  yet  he  con- 
siders it  identical  with  that  of  Piso  and  Marcgrav. 
which  is,  however,  emphatically  denied  by  De  Tussac 
..  ,  (656a)  in  Dictionnaire  des  Sciences  Naturettes. 


COPAIBA  115 

Linnaeus  (385),  in  1762,  gave  Jacquin's  plant  the 
name  Copaifera  officinalis. 

Until  1821  it  was  generally  believed  that  Copaifera 
officinalis  was  the  only  tree  yielding  copaiba;  in  this 
year,  however,  Desfontaines,  (189a),  added  two  new 
species,  C.  guianensis  and  C.  Langsdorffii.  At  the  same 
time,  Desfontaines  changed  the  name  of  C.  officinalis 
to  C.  Jacquini,  in  honor  of  its  discoverer.  The  fact 
that  Jacquin's  plant  was  foreign  to  Brazil  and  yielded 
a  balsam  of  inferior  quality  would  indicate  that  it  could 
not  well  have  been  the  official  balsam  tree,  while  by 
reason  of  the  publication  of  Piso's  account,  Brazil  had 
been  generally  considered  the  geographical  source  of 
the  official  balsam.  However,  the  name  C.  officinalis, 
L.,  has  subsequently  been  upheld,  although  the  official 
copaiba  balsam  is  now  considered  as  being  mainly  de- 
rived from  C.  Langsdorffii,  the  species  named  by  Des- 
fontaines in  1821  in  honor  of  Mr.  Langsdorff,  the 
Russian  consul  general  at  Rio  Janeiro,  from  whom  the 
specimens  were  ob tamed.  This  name  was  erroneously 
spelled  "Lansdorffii"  by  Bentley  and  Trimen  (57),  who 
thus  perpetrated  what  was  undoubtedly  an  error  of 
print  in  Desfontaines'  original  memoir.  Soon  there- 
after the  recorded  species  of  copaiba  increased  rapidly. 
In  1826  Hayne  (305a)  (Arzney  Gewaechse),  published 
and  described  sixteen  different  species,  which,  however, 
all  bear  resemblances,  their  distinctive  features  residing 
mainly  in  the  form  and  the  arrangement  of  the  leaves. 
Hayne  especially  endeavors  to  place  the  species  made 
known  by  Piso,  the  difficulty  being  that  this  ancient 
work  stated  that  the  wood  is  colored  as  if  with  minium. 
The  only  species  that,  in  the  opinion  of  Hayne,  would 


116  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

answer  that  description,  is  C.  bijuga,  the  wood  of  the 
branches  of  which  is  pale-red,  which  color  may  appear 
as  red  in  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  Hayne  also  states  that 
copaiba  is  gathered  from  all  species  known  to  the  na- 
tives, and  concludes  that  most  of  the  balsam  is  yielded 
by  C.  muUijuga  in  the  province  of  Para,  a  species,  how- 
ever, which  is  now  questioned. 

According  to  Fliickiger  (239,  240),  the  following 
species  are  the  principal  sources  of  the  copaiba  of  com- 
merce : 

1.  Copaifera    officinalis,    L.      (Guiana,    Venezuela, 
Colombia,  Trinidad). 

2.  Copaifera    guianensis,    Desf.      (Lower    Amazon, 
lower  Rio  Negro,  Cayenne,  Surinam). 

3.  C.  coriacea,  Martius.    (Bahia  and  Piauhy). 

4.  C.  Langsdorffii,  Desf.     (Continental  provinces  of 
Brazil). 

The  number  of  known  species  has  steadily  increased 
until  now  the  Index  Kewensis  recognizes  twenty-three 
American  and  five  African  species. 

The  copaiba  obtained  from  the  vast  territory  of  the 
Brazilian  continent,  along  the  Amazon  and  its  tribu- 
taries, is  collected  in  the  shipping  port  of  Para.  Maran- 
hao  Island  is  also  a  place  of  export.  Other  shipping 
ports  are  Maracaibo  and  Angustura  in  Venezuela, 
Trinidad,  Demerara,  (British  Guiana),  Cartagena 
(Colombia),  and  Rio  de  Janeiro.  This  article  is  largely 
a  condensation  of  a  contribution  of  Dr.  Sigmund  Wald- 
bott  and  the  writer  to  the  Western  Druggist,  Chicago. 


CROTON  TIGLIUM  117 

CORIANDRUM  (Coriander  Seed) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Coriandrum  sativum  is  indigenous  to  the  regions  of 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Caucasus,  from  which  it 
has  spread  throughout  the  temperate  parts  of  the 
whole  world,  even  to  the  Americas.  It  was  mentioned 
by  early  Sanskrit  writers  and  in  the  Mosaic  books, 
Exodus  and  Numbers,  and  occurs  in  the  famous  Egyp- 
tian papyrus  Ebers  (213).  Its  fruit  was  used  by  the 
Jews  and  the  Romans  as  a  medicine,  as  well  as  a  spice, 
in  very  early  days.  Cato  (132)  notes  its  cultivation; 
Pliny  (514)  states  that  it  was  obtained  in  very  fine 
quality  in  Egypt,  and  it  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
book  of  Apicius  Ccelius  (24),  about  the  third  century 
A.  D.  It  is  also  included  in  the  list  of  valuable  prod- 
ucts of  Charlemagne. 

CROTON  TIGLIUM  (Croton  Oil) 

The  Oil  of  Croton  Tiglium  was  introduced  into  the  U.  S.  P. 
in  1830,  being  official  in  both  the  New  York  and  the  Philadelphia 
editio  E1*- •---•-•*---•—  —••— -.«-.~  .,,-,,,, 

1910, 


editions.    It  is  official  in  all  succeeding  editions,  including  that  of 
3,  which  lists  it  as  Oleum  Tiglii  (Croton  Oil). 


The  genus  croton,  established  by  Linnaeus  in  1737, 
is  extensive,  625  species  being  recognized  in  the  Index 
Kewensis.  We  have  a  number  of  herbaceous  species 
in  this  country,  but  none  of  any  economic  importance. 
The  croton  plant  is  a  native  of  India,  and  is  grown  all 
through  the  East  Indies.  It  is  a  small  tree,  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  high. 

Croton  Tiglium  is  considered  indigenous  to  Malabar, 
Ceylon,  Amboina  (of  the  Molucca  Islands),  the  Philip- 
pines, and  Java.  Joannes  Scott  (588a),  in  his  disserta- 
tion on  the  medicinal  plants  of  Ceylon,  (Edinburgh, 


118  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

1819),  states  that  the  seeds  of  Croton  Tiglium,  under 
the  name  "gayapala,"  are  a  most  powerful  purgative, 
and  also  that  the  leaves  are  very  acrid,  causing  an  in- 
tolerable burning  in  the  mouth  and  throat. 

Dr.  Irvine,  in  1848,  gave  a  short  account  of  the  ma- 
teria  medica  of  Patna  (part  of  the  province  of  Bengal), 
mentioning  "jamalgoota,"  which  he  stated  is  derived 
from  Croton  Tiglium  and  several  other  species  of  croton. 
The  croton  seeds  furnish  a  violent  purge,  and  are  made 
into  pills  with  ginger  and  "kutkaranja  or  kath  karanja 
seeds,"  which  he  explains  are  known  as  bonduc  nut 
(the  febrifuge  seed  of  Ccesalpinia  Bonducella,  or  nicker 
tree). 

More  recently,  Mr.  0.  Weynton  (682),  calls  attention 
to  the  occurrence  of  Croton  Tiglium  in  all  parts  of  the 
fertile  and  wealthy  province  of  Assam,  especially  in  the 
dry  districts.  He  states  that  the  demand  for  the  drug 
is  small,  and  that  the  plant  has  a  tendency  to  spread. 
Hence  efforts  are  being  made  to  restrict  the  growth,  and 
keep  it  within  certain  bounds. 

The  ancient  Hindu  physicians  were  not  acquainted 
with  the  drug,  which  seems  to  have  originated  in  China, 
from  whence,  at  an  early  day,  the  seeds  were  also  intro- 
duced into  Persia  (where  they  are  now  called  dand),  by 
way  of  the  caravan  routes  of  Central  Asia.  Subse- 
quently the  Arabs  derived  their  knowledge  of  the 
seeds  from  the  Persians,  their  name,  hab-el-kathai 
(Cathay  seeds),  being  in  turn  suggestive  of  the  Chinese 
origin  (209).  Some  of  the  vernacular  Indian  names, 
according  to  Dymock,  (208),  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
plant  reached  India  through  the  Himalayan  province 
of  Nepal  (209). 

Croton  was  imported  into  Europe  by  the  Dutch  during 


CROTON  TIGLIUM  119 

the  sixteenth  century.  The  first  account  of  the  plant 
in  European  literature,  however,  must  be  credited  to 
the  Portuguese  physician  Christoval  Acosta,  who  in 
1578  described  the  wood  as  lignum  pavance  (or  L.  Pa- 
navce  or  L.  moluccense),  and  the  seeds  as  pini  nuclei 
moluccani  (3).  The  prominent  writings  of  Rheede, 
(1678),  who  gives  the  Malayan  name  cadel  avanacu 
(547),  Ray,  (1688),  and  others,  later  gave  the  drug  due 
consideration,  while  C.  Bauhinus,  (1671),  differentiated 
between  several  synonyms  of  the  seeds  and  woods  that 
were  then  in  use.  To  Caspar  Commelyn  (1667-1731) 
is  attributed  the  first  use  of  the  name  cataputice  minores 
for  the  seeds,  while  the  well-known  synonym  grana 
tiglii  is  also  stated  to  have  been  originated  in  his  time. 
And  yet  that  author's  work  on  the  Flora  Malabarica 
(1696),  does  not  record  the  first  term,  although  the 
name  grana  tiglii  is  therein  accredited  to  Samuel  Dale's 
Pharmacologia,  (the  first  edition  of  which  appeared  in 
1693).  (179). 

As  regards  the  use  of  the  oil  derived  from  the  seeds, 
E.  von  Hirschheydt,  in  the  exhaustive  historical  intro- 
duction to  his  dissertation  (318a),  mentions  that  Peter 
Borellus,  a  French  physician  (1620-1689),  in  1657 
lauds  the  cathartic  virtues  of  the  oil,  which  in  as  small 
an  amount  as  two  drops  caused  purging,  even  when 
merely  rubbed  into  the  skin.  Similar  mention  of  its 
virtues  is  made  by  Rumphius  (Herbarium  Amboinense, 
1750).  Geoffroy  (260),  in  his  Materia  Medica,  (1756), 
reports  that  the  natives  of  India  use  the  oil  to  make 
what  they  call  the  royal  purging  apple  (poma  cathar- 
tica),  the  mere  odor  of  which  was  asserted  to  purge 
persons  of  delicate  constitutions.  The  directions  for 
making  this  potent  "apple"  are  as  follows: 


120  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

"Macerate  an  orange  or  lemon  in  oil  of  tilli  (croton 
oil)  for  one  month.  Remove  it,  hold  to  the  nostrils 
and  inhale  the  breath;  soon  afterwards  the  bowels  will 
move." 

About  1750,  CoKausen,  according  to  several  author- 
ities, employed  croton  oil  with  success  in  cases  of  tsenia. 

Although  during  the  17th  and  18th  centuries  the 
remedy  had  been  frequently  used,  it  seems  that  toward 
the  end  of  the  18th  century  it  fell  into  oblivion,  probably 
on  account  of  its  energetic  action.  However,  its  use 
was  revived  when  in  1812  several  English  physicians, 
among  them  Drs.  White  and  Marshall,  observed  the 
action  of -the  seed  hi  medical  practice  in  India,  and 
brought  the  drug  again  to  the  notice  of  the  profession 
in  Europe.  (209).  Ainslie  in  1813,  and  Conwell  in 
1819,  by  their  publications,  gave  it  further  prominence. 
In  connection  with  its  reintroduction,  we  note  the  inter- 
esting fact  that  a  Mr.  Short  then  brought  the  drug  to 
Europe,  and  was  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  the  right 
(license)  to  its  exclusive  sale  in  England.  That  it  at 
once  became  an  important  drug  is  shown  by  the  atten- 
tion then  given  it  hi  medical  literature.  An  extensive 
list  of  references  to  the  literature  of  Croton  Tiglium, 
covering  the  period  from  1820  to  1835  alone,  may  be 
found  hi  Hirschheydt's  dissertation  (318a).  According 
to  this  authority,  (1890),  the  seeds  and  the  oil  are  sel- 
dom used  in  Europe,  other  than  in  veterinary  practice, 
as  he  states,  on  account  of  the  uncontrollable  influence 
exerted  by  the  presence  of  the  powerfully  toxic  ritin 
(an  albuminoid  body),  in  the  oil.1 

As  already  stated,  the  genus  croton  was  established 

1  In  the  opinion  of  the  historian,  this  valuable  cathartic  is  discredited  because  alone  it 
ia  in  even  moderate  doses  very  aggressive.    With  proper  condiments,  and  other  laxative 
,  a  different  i 


CUBEBA  121 

by  Linnaeus  in  1737,  the  name  being  adopted  from  the 
Greek  synonym  for  Ridnus  communis,  the  seeds  of 
which,  as  also  those  of  Croton  Tiglium,  have  a  resem- 
blance to  a  tick  (dog-tick,  Kporwv  in  Greek).  As  to 
the  origin  of  the  term  tiglium,  some  authorities  ascribe 
it  to  the  Moluccan  island  of  Tilho,  while  others  (696) 
believe  it  to  be  derived  from  the  Greek  word  tilos,  mean- 
ing diarrhea.  The  botanical  and  vernacular  synonyms 
antedating  the  name  given  by  Linnaeus  are  numerous, 
and  are  generally  carried  by  the  older  botanico-medical 
works,  e.  g.,  by  Dale,  (179),  Bauhinus  (47),  and  others. 
The  post-Linnaean  synonyms  recorded  in  the  Index 
Kewensis  are  rarely  if  ever  seen  in  pharmaceutical 
print,  and  may  well  be  reproduced,  as  follows: 

1.  C.  acutus,  Thunberg,  1784. 

2.  C.  jamalgota,  Hamilton,  1825. 

3.  C.  pavana,  Hamilton,  1825. 

4.  Kurkas  Tiglium,  Rafinesque  (Sylva  Tellur.),  1838. 

5.  Halecus  verus,  Raf.,  1838. 

6.  Tiglium  offidnale,  Klotzsch,  1843. 

7.  Croton  muricatus,  Blanco,  1845. 

8.  Anisophyllum  acutifolium,  Bouv.,  1860-61. 

CUBEBA  (Cubeb) 

Mentioned  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  The  later  volumes, 
beginning  with  1870,  limit  the  drug  to  the  unripe  fruit. 

Cubebs,  Piper  Cubeba,  the  berry  of  a  shrub  indigenous 
to  Java,  Southern  Borneo,  and  Sumatra,  was  originally 
introduced  to  Europe  as  a  spice.  Masudi  (413)  in  the 
10th  century  refers  to  cubebs  as  a  product  of  Java. 
Edrisi  (221),  1153,  mentions  the  berries  as  among  the 
imports  of  Aden.  That  they  were  known  in  Europe  as 
early  as  the  llth  century,  is  evident  from  the  writings 


122  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

of  Constantius  Africanus  (165),  of  Salerno,  while  Abba- 
tissa  Hildegarde,  (3 16),  of  Germany,  mentions  them  in 
the  13th  century,  at  which  time  they  had  become  an 
article  of  European  trade.  They  were  sold-  in  England 
in  1284,  and  at  that  time,  or  thereabout,  were  known 
to  European  countries  generally.  The  price  in  1596 
was  equal  to  that  of  opium  or  of  amber.  Cubeb  berries 
were  introduced  into  medicine  by  the  Arabs  of  the 
Middle  Ages.1 

The  following  interesting  article  is  recorded  in 
Fliickiger's  Pharmacographia,  pp.  584-5: 

"Cubebs  are  mentioned  as  a  production  of  Java 
('grand  isle  de  Javva')  by  Marco  Polo;  and  by  Odoric, 
an  Italian  friar,  who  visited  the  island  about  forty 
years  later.  In  the  13th  century  the  drug  was  an  article 
of  European  trade,  and  would  appear  to  have  already 
been  regularly  imported  into  London.  Duty  was 
levied  upon  them  as  Cubebas  silvestres  at  Barcelona  in 
1271.  They  are  mentioned  about  this  period  as  sold  in 
the  fairs  of  Champagne  in  France,  the  price  being  4 
sous  per  Ib.  They  were  also  sold  in  England:  in  ac- 
counts under  date  1284  they  are  encountered  with 
almonds,  saffron,  raisins,  white  pepper,  grains  (of  para- 
dise), mace,  galangal,  and  gingerbread,  and  entered  as 
costing  2s.  per  Ib.  In  1285,  2s.  6d.  to  3s.  per  Ib;  while 
in  1307, 1  Ib.  purchased  for  the  King'sWardrobe  cost  9s. 

"From  the  journal  of  expenses  of  John,  king  of  France, 
while  in  England  during  1359-60,  it  is  evident  that  cu- 
bebs  were  in  frequent  use  as  a  spice.  Among  those  who 
could  command  such  luxuries  they  were  eaten  in  pow- 
der with  meat,  or  they  were  candied  whole.  A  patent 

1  We  fail  to  find  cubeb  mentioned  by  Burton.  Possibly  it  was  given  a  position  under 
another  name.  His  Thousand  Nights  and  a  Night,  so  prolific  in  natural  history  notes, 
lacks  an  index  of  drugs  ai.d  plants.  This  is  to  be  regretted. 


CUSSO,  COUSSO,  KOUSSO  123 

of  pontage  granted  in  1305  by  Edward  I,  to  aid  in  re- 
pairing and  sustaining  the  Bridge  of  London,  and 
authorizing  toll  on  various  articles,  mentions  among 
groceries  and  spices,  cubebs  as  liable  to  impost.  Cubebs 
occur  in  the  German  lists  of  medicines  of  Frankfort 
and  Nordlingen,  about  1450  and  1480;  they  are  also 
mentioned  in  the  Confectbuch  of  Hans  Folcz  of  Nurem- 
berg, dating  about  1480. 

"It  cannot,  however,  be  said  that  cubebs  were  a  com- 
mon spice,  at  all  comparable  with  pepper  or  ginger,  or 
even  in  such  frequent  use  as  grains  of  paradise  or  galan- 
gal.  Garcia  de  Orta,  (1563),  speaks  of  them  as  but 
seldom  used  in  Europe;  yet  they  are  named  by  Sala- 
dinus  as  necessary  to  be  kept  in  every  apotheca.  In  a 
list  of  drugs  to  be  sold  in  the  apothecaries'  shops  of  the 
city  of  Ulm,  A.  D.  1596,  cubebs  are  mentioned  as 
Fructus  carpesiorum  vel  cubebarum,  the  price  for  half 
an  ounce  being  quoted  as  8  kreutzers,  the  same  as  that 
of  opium,  best  manna,  and  amber,  while  black  and 
white  pepper  are  priced  at  2  kreutzers." 

CUSSO,  COUSSO,  KOUSSO  (Kousso) 

Introduced  as  Brayera  in  Secondary  List  of  1860.  It  retained 
this  name  in  the  editions  of  1870  and  1880.  It  was  official  as 
Cusso  in  the  editions  of  1890  and  1900,  but  was  neglected  alto- 
gether in  1910. 

The  cousso  tree  (Hagenia  abyssinica)  is  native  to 
Abyssinia,  where  it  is  generally  planted  about  the 
villages  on  the  high  tablelands,  from  3,000  to  8,000 
feet  above  the  sea  level.  Bruce  (105)  observed  its 
uses,  1768-1773,  during  his  expedition  to  discover  the 
sources  of  the  Nile,  and  Willdenow  (385),  1799,  de- 
scribed it  under  the  name  Hagenia.  Its  use  as  a  vermi- 
fuge was  derived  from  Abyssinian  domestic  practice, 


124  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  decoction  being  used  for  this  purpose.  In  eaily 
European  record,  an  extraordinarily  high  price  was 
asked  for  this  substance.  It  was  introduced  to  Europe 
in  1850  by  a  Frenchman,  who  demanded  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  $9  per  ounce.  This  led  to  its  importation 
in  quantities,  when  the  value  soon  fell  to  a  normal 
standard.  In  the  opinion  of  this  writer,  the  decoction 
should  be  employed,  not  an  alcoholic  preparation. 
This  applies  also  to  pumpkin  as  well  as  many  other 
drugs. 

CYPRIPEDIUM  (Lady's  Slipper) 

Introduced  into  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1860,  but  in  the  Secondary 
List,  holding  the  same  position  in  1870.  In  the  editions  of  1880, 
1890  and  1900  it  was  official,  but  was  dropped  in  1910. 

Lady's  slipper  (Cypripedium  pubescens)  is  found  in 
several  varieties  throughout  the  United  States,  where 
it  is  indigenous  to  rich  woods  and  meadows.  It  has 
been  valued  as  a  domestic  remedy  and  was  once  a  home 
favorite  in  the  form  of  a  decoction  for  nervous  con- 
ditions of  women  and  children.  It  was  thus  utilized  by 
the  early  settlers  as  a  substitute  for  valerian,  which 
gave  it  the  name  American  valerian.  Creeping  thus 
into  domestic  therapeutic  use,  it  naturally  received 
the  care  and  attention  of  the  "Indian  doctors,"  and 
came  gradually  to  the  attention  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion. To  give  its 'American  record,  complete,  would 
cite  all  the  domestic  writers  on  American  medicine  of 
the  19th  century,  as  well  as  such  authorities  as  King 
(356),  Wood  and  Bache  (698),  etc. 


DIGITALIS  125 

DIGITALIS  (Foxglove) 

Including  1820,  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  mentions  Digi- 
talis leaves.  The  New  York  edition  of  1830  names  "leaves  and 
seeds."  Beginning  with  1860,  the  drug  is  limited  to  second  year 
growth,  this  restriction  being  removed  in  1910. 

Digitalis  purpurea  occurs  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  Europe,  being,  however,  generally  absent  from 
limestone  districts.  It  was  used  in  domestic  medicine 
in  early  days,  and  by  the  Welsh  as  an  external  medi- 
cine. (507).  Fuchs  (252)  and  Tragus  (650),  1542, 
pictured  the  plant,  but  remarked  that  it  was  a  violent 
medicine.  Parkinson  (492)  commended  it  in  1640,  and 
it  was  investigated  in  1776-9  by  Withering  (693), 
through  whose  efforts  it  was  introduced  into  licensed 
medicine.  Digitalis  was  originally  employed  as  a  rem- 
edy in  fevers,  in  which  direction  it  is  no  longer  used. 
In  1799,  J.  Ferriar  (233),  of  Manchester,  England,  con- 
tributed a  treatise  concerning  the  medicinal  uses  of 
digitalis,  which  was  also  described  by  Withering,  Bosch 
(89),  Moore  (450),  and  other  authors  of  that  period. 
At  present  digitalis  is  by  some  standardized  by  its 
physiological  qualities  when  injected  into  the  veins  of 
lower  animals,  the  United  States  Government  having 
issued  a  bulletin  on  this  subject.  (332a).  Discussions 
of  this  phase  of  the  problem  are,  however,  out  of  place 
in  this  history.1 

Digitalis  frequents  silicious  lands,  but  does  not 
thrive  in  limestone  soil.  It  is  widely  cultivated,  not 
only  for  its  medicinal  properties,  but  also  as  a  garden 
flower,  being  well  known  under  the  common  term  Fox- 
glove, a  name  ascribed  to  it  both  from  its  resemblance 
to  an  ancient  musical  instrument  known  as  Foxes-Glew, 

1  Necessity  sometimes  demands  that  a  prominent  phase  of  drug  action  be  recorded. 
Usually,  however,  eveji  this  can  be  avoided. 


126  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

and  from  its  fancied  resemblance  to  a  gloved  finger. 
Tragus  (650)  was  the  "first  systematic  author  who 
noticed  it,  and  from  him  it  received  its  name,  Digitalis 
(from  digitus,  finger),  in  allusion  to  the  German  name 
Fingerhut,  signifying  a  finger-stall,  the  blossoms  resem- 
bling the  finger  of  a  glove." — Withering.  The  home  of 
the  most  prized  digitalis  is  England. 

Digitalis  is  easily  grown  in  lands  and  countries  fitted 
to  its  culture,  reproducing  from  self-sown  seed. 
Motherby,  1775,  (451b),  states  that  "it  grows  only  in 
gravelly  beds,"  a  statement  that  has  been  carried 
through  subsequent  literature,  but  is  not  fact,  although 
we  accept  that  the  plant  "prefers"  such  soil.  In  lime- 
stone lands  digitalis  failed,  under  our  personal  observa- 
tion, to  respond  satisfactorily  to  cultivation.  Lime- 
stone sections  of  Kentucky,  although  very  fertile  other- 
wise, and  producing  luxuriant  crops  of  corn  and  heavy 
tobacco,  failed  utterly  with  digitalis,  although  an 
abundance  of  seed  of  unquestioned  fertility  was  em- 
ployed. In  gardens,  however,  in  limestone  sections  of 
both  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  the  transplanted  plants 
thrive  for  two  seasons,  but  the  self-sown  seeds  there- 
from fail  to  maintain  the  crop.  In  New  York  State, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Honeoye  River,  digitalis  planted  in 
1820  in  a  flower  garden  on  the  homestead  of  the  Web- 
ster family,  (the  home  of  the  writer's  mother),  at  the 
present  date,  (recorded  in  1912),  continues  as  a  great 
wild  bed,  self-sown  from  year  to  year.  The  late  Pro- 
fessor M.  I.  Wilbert,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  stated  to 
us  that  under  favorable  circumstances,  digitalis  may 
become  a  perennial.  Possibly  this  is  a  factor  in  its 
luxuriant  growth  in  the  locality  named.  In  some  parts 
of  the  State  of  Oregon,  digitalis  has  escaped  from  culti- 


DIGITALIS  127 

ration  and  become  a  thick  roadside  plant,  growing 
luxuriantly  near  Cloverdale,  and  in  such  abundance  as 
to  have  led  to  its  consideration  as  a  commercial  crop. 
To  Dr.  Walter  F.  Brown,  of  that  city,  we  are  indebted 
for  nice  specimens  of  the  leaf,  and  photographs  showing 
the  flower-spikes  over  nine  feet  high.  He  writes  as 
follows,  (1912): 

"1.  As  near  as  I  can  find,  digitalis  has  been  growing 
here  for  twenty  years.  It  was  confined  to  a  few  spots 
for  several  years,  but  it  is  now  found  all  over  the  south- 
ern half  of  the  county. 

"2.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  brought  here  by 
pioneers,  and  cultivated  for  its  flowers. 

"3.  The  dairymen  claim  that  some  cows  will  eat  it  in 
early  spring,  when  the  leaves  are  tender  and  other  for- 
age is  scarce.  It  has  no  noticeable  effect  on  the  animals 
that  eat  it,  but  they  eat  very  little  of  it. 

"4.  I  have  used  the  infusion  and  the  tincture  for 
about  fifteen  years,  and  of  late  years  I  have  used  digi- 
talin  to  some  extent. 

"5.  People  in  this  locality  make  no  use  of  the  plant, 
looking  upon  it  as  a  despicable  weed  that  takes  their 
hillside  pastures." 

Other  than  for  the  high  price  of  labor  in  this  country, 
there  is  no  reason  why  digitalis  should  not  be  American 
cultivated,  and  in  localities  suited  to  its  growth,  such 
as  Oregon,  produce  an  abundance  sufficient  to  supply 
all  our  needs. 

The  leaf  of  the  second  year's  growth  of  digitalis  is 
generally  directed  to  be  used,  but  in  our  opinion  this 
limitation  to  the  second  year's  crop  is  ill-advised  and 
unnecessary.  The  mature  leaves  of  either  the  first  or 
the  second  year's  crop  are  superior  to  immature  or 


128  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

over-ripe  leaves,  of  any  year.  The  standard  of  excel- 
lence should  be  the  fully-matured,  air-dried  leaf,  regard- 
less of  the  age  of  the  plant,  and  we  question  if  collectors 
anywhere  discriminate  concerning  the  age  of  the  plant. 
In  this  connection  we  would  state  that,  originally,  both 
the  root  and  the  leaf  of  digitalis  were  employed  in  medi- 
cine. The  root,  however,  is"  exceedingly  variable  in 
structure,  that  of  the  first  year's  growth  being  insignifi- 
cant and  sappy,  whilst  the  root  of  the  second  year's 
growth  is  larger  and  heavier,  and  more  pronounced  in 
quality.  Inasmuch  as  the  leaf  possesses  fully  the  qual- 
ities of  the  drug,  and  is  more  easily  collected,  it  nat- 
urally displaced  the  root  in  medicine.  The  preference 
once  given  to  the  second  year's  growth  of  the  root, 
created  both  the  confusion  and  the  prejudice  whereby 
the  leaf  of  the  first  year  was  finally  ostracized,  even  in 
authoritative  literature.  Thus  both  Pharmacopeias 
and  standard  works  on  materia  medica  were  illogically 
led  to  exclude  much  excellent  digitalis  material.  In 
searching  for  data  in  this  direction,  we  find  that  Wither- 
ing, Physician  to  the  General  Hospital  at  Birmingham, 
in  1785,  writes  as  follows,  in  his  "An  Account  of  the 
Foxglove"  (693): 

"My  truly  valuable  and  respectable  friend,  Dr.  Ash, 
informed  me  that  Dr.  Cawley,  then  principal  of  Brazen 
Nose  College,  Oxford,  had  been  cured  of  a  Hydrops 
Pectoris  by  an  empirical  exhibition  of  the  root  of  the  Fox- 
glove, after  some  of  the  first  physicians  of  the  age  had 
declared  they  could  do  no  more  for  him.  I  was  now 
determined  to  pursue  my  former  idea  more  vigorously 
than  before,  but  was  too  well  aware  of  the  uncertainty 
which  must  attend  on  the  exhibition  of  the  root  of  a 


DIGITALIS  129 

biennial  plant,  and  therefore  continued  to  use  the 
leaves." 

Withering  is  also  explicit  in  distinguishing  between 
the  qualities  of  the  leaves  gathered  at  different  seasons 
of  the  year,  but  he  does  not  limit  the  drug  to  the  second 
year's  growth.  He  states  that  at  different  seasons  of 
the  year  the  quality  varies  greatly,  which  is  true  of  all 
herbs.  He  therefore  suggests  that  the  leaves  employed 
should  be  those  of  a  prime  quality,  gathered  when  the 
plant  is  in  flower,  (which  is  in  the  second  year's  growth), 
but  makes  no  other  reference  whatever  to  either  the 
first  or  the  second  year's  crop.  He  says: 

"The  leaves  I  had  found  to  vary  much  as  to  dose,  at 
different  seasons  of  the  year;  but  I  expected,  if  gathered 
always  in  one  condition  of  the  plant,  viz.,  when  it  was 
in  flowering  state,  and  carefully  dried,  that  the  dose 
might  be  ascertained  as  exactly  as  that  of  any  other 
medicine." 

During  the  past  fifteen  years  the  writer  of  these 
historical  notes  has  cultivated  more  or  less  digitalis, 
but,  as  has  been  said,  he  has  failed  to  discover  any 
advantage  that  the  second  year's  crop  possesses  over 
the  mature  leaf  of  the  first  year,  other  than  that  there  is 
a  greater  number  of  mature  leaves  the  second  year, 
the  crop  being  heavier  than  the  first  year.  In  the  orig- 
inal European  experimentation,  the  seed  and  flowers 
were  also  employed  in  therapy,  but  soon  passed  into 
disuse.  Withering  employed  the  leaf  texture,  after 
removing  the  ribs  and  fibers.1 

1  For  detailed  experiments  on  both  cultivation  and  assays  of  Digitalis  see  researches 
of  Haskell,  Miller,  Walters,  Eckler  &  Baker.  "The  LiUy  Scientific  Bulletins,"  NOB. 
1  2,  4&5. 


130  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

ELATERIUM    (ELATERIUM) 

Elaterium  was  official  in  all  the  early  editions  of  the  Pharma- 
copeia. In  1880  it  was  displaced  by  its  product,  Elaterin  (a  neu- 
tral principle  extracted  from  elaterium),  which  became  official  in 
this  and  succeeding  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  through  1910. 

Elaterium  is  the  dried  juice  of  the  fruit  of  Ecballium 
Elaterium,  common  throughout  the  Mediterranean 
regions,  from  Portugal  to  Southern  Russia  and  Persia, 
as  well  as  through  Central  Europe.  The  method  of 
preparing  elaterium,  as  described  by  Dioscorides  (194), 
is  practically  that  of  the  present  day.  The  drug  is  also 
mentioned  by  Theophrastus  (633).  Elaterium  is  a 
powerful  hydragogue  cathartic,  paralleling  Croton 
Tiglium  in  its  vicious  action,  and  has  been  empirically 
known  from  the  earliest  tunes  to  the  natives  of  the 
countries  it  inhabits.  Clutterbuck  (154),  (1819,  Lon- 
don Medical  Repository,  XII,  pp.  1-9),  recommends  a 
process  of  obtaining  elaterium  in  irregular  cake-like 
fragments.  This  is  now  the  form  in  which  it  is  em- 
ployed in  medicine;  hence  the  common  term,  "Clutter- 
buck's  elaterium." 

ERGOTA    (Ergot) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.  It  appears  in  the  Sec- 
ondary List  in  1820  and  1828  under  the  name  "Secale  cornutum, 
Secale  cereale,"  with  the  description  "Spurred  Rye.  Called 
Ergot."  The  edition  of  1830  promotes  it  to  the  Primary  List,  but 
retains  the  name  Secale.  The  edition  of  1840  first  makes  the  name 
Ergota  the  primary  name,  with  the  description,  "The  diseased 
seeds  of  Secale  cereale."  This  name  and  description  are  followed 
by  the  editions  of  1850  and  1860.  The  edition  of  1870  changes 
the  description  to  "  The  sclerotium  of  Claviceps  purpurea,"  which 
is  retained  by  all  succeeding  editions,  including  that  of  1910. 

This  drug,  from  the  earliest  period,  has  been  known  as 
a  disturber  of  flour,  it  having  been  long  since  observed 
that  flour  made  of  rye  containing  ergot  gave  rise  to  the 
disease  now  known  as  ergotism.  When  we  consider 


ERGOTA  131 

that  many  of  the  malignant  epidemics  and  frightful 
pestilences  recorded  in  the  history  of  medieval  Europe, 
including  an  epidemic  occurring  as  late  as  1816,  were 
ascribed  to  spurred  rye,  it  can  be  seen  that  such  old 
terms  as  "convulsivus  malignus"  and  "morbus  spas- 
modicus,"  once  applied  to  the  (accepted)  ergot  disease, 
were  well  chosen.  Not  till  1838,  however,  was  the 
nature  of  ergot  authoritatively  determined  by  Quekett 
(529)  in  his  paper  read  before  the  Linnsean  Society, 
titled,  "Observations  on  the  Anatomical  and  Physiolog- 
ical Nature  of  Ergot  in  Certain  Grasses."  Before  that 
date,  although  recognized  as  a  fungus,  the  stage  known 
as  ergot  was  considered  a  distinct  species. 

As  with  other  important  natural  drugs,  so  with  ergot. 
It  is  initially  a  gift  of  domestic  medicine,  and  was  first 
mentioned  by  Adam  Lonicer  (394),  Frankfort,  Ger- 
many, who  (1565)  ascribed  to  it  obstetric  virtues,  on 
the  authority  of  women  who  considered  it  of  "remark- 
able and  certain  efficacy."  The  English  botanist  Ray 
(536)  alludes  to  its  medicinal  properties  (1693);  a 
Dutch  physician,  Rathlaw,  employed  it  in  1747;  Des- 
granges,  of  Lyons,  praised  it  in  1777;  while  Dr.  John 
Stearns,  of  Waterford,  N.  Y.,  (61  la),  who  introduced 
ergot  to  American  medicine,  1807,  under  the  name 
"Pulvis  parturiens,"  highly  commended  it  in  a  paper 
contributed  to  the  Medical  Repository  (418b),  which 
gave  ergot  a  place  that,  supported  by  other  testimony, 
pushed  the  drug  into  prominence.  Ergot,  it  may  be 
repeated,  is  a  gift  of  home  obstetric  practice,  estab- 
lished over  three  centuries  ago  by  the  German  mid- 
wives. 

The  chemistry  of  ergot  was  the  subject  of  a  paper 
by  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  of  Sharp  &  Dohme,  con- 


132  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

tributed  to  the  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Ass'n.,  1895,  pp. 
262-265.  As  might  be  expected  by  any  person  con- 
versant with  the  record  of  this  perplexing  drug,  the 
author  was  not  satisfied  with  the  results,  closing  his 
paper  with  the  frank  sentence:  "Should  subsequent 
work  show  that  Keller's  Cornutine  is  the  active  prin- 
ciple of  ergot,  and  that  his  method  extracts  all  of  this 
substance  from  the  drug,  then  the  above  results  may 
become  of  value;  as  it  is,  they  can  merely  be  regarded 
as  indications,  and  possess  interest  rather  than  value." 
The  problem  of  the  ergot  constituents  or  products 
of  manipulation  lies  outside  the  field  of  our  history  of 
crude  drugs. 

ERIODICTYON  ("Yerba  Santa") 

Introduced  into  U.  S.  P.,  1890.  Official  in  the  two  following 
editions. 

This  drug,  Eriodictyon  californicum  (Eriodidyon 
glutinosum),  long  employed  by  the  Indians  of  Cali- 
fornia, was  introduced  to  medical  print  in  1875  by 
Dr.  J.  H.  Bundy  (Ilia),  of  Colusa,  California,  his  orig- 
inal article  appearing  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal 
of  that  year,  p.  453.  Under  the  name  "Yerba  Santa," 
Dr.  Bundy  records  as  follows: 

"This  is  a  remedy  that,  to  my  knowledge,  has  never 
been  placed  before  the  medical  profession  with  any  cer- 
tainty or  knowledge  as  to  its  therapeutic  action  or 
power,  nor  do  but  few  in  any  part  of  the  country  know 
even  of  the  existence  of  such  a  plant.  I  have  been 
carefully  testing  it  for  the  past  six  months  or  more,  to 
find  out  if  possible  its  specific  or  particular  action  upon 
the  human  economy,  and  upon  what  particular  part 
or  parts  it  has  its  influence.  At  last  I  have  arrived  at 


ERIODICTYON  133 

conclusions  so  definite  in  this  particular,  and  so  satis- 
fied and  pleased  am  I  with  the  remedy,  that  I  can  not 
refrain  from  making  public  the  knowledge  of  a  remedy 
so  certain  and  so  positive  in  its  action,  and  one  so  much 
desired  by  the  medical  profession.  The  term  'Yerba 
Santa*  is  one  given  by  the  Spanish,  which  signifies 
'saint  herb,'  or  'holy  herb.'  It  is  a  native  of  Califor- 
nia, and  is  found  principally  in  the  East  Range  Moun- 
tains." 

In  February,  1876,  Dr.  J.  M.  Scudder  received 
specimens  of  the  plant  from  Dr.  Bundy,  which  were 
identified  by  Mr.  C.  G.  Lloyd  as  Eriodictyon  gluti- 
nosum.  This  name  was  announced  in  the  March  num- 
ber of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  1876. 

Pharmaceutical  preparations  of  this  drug  were  first 
presented  to  the  American  medical  profession  by  Parke, 
Davis  &  Company,  of  Detroit,  in  New  Preparations 
(467),  1877-1878.  Independently  of  others,  (May  18, 
1875),  Professor  John  M.  Maisch  (401a),  of  Philadel- 
phia, had  described  the  leaves  of  the  plant,  presenting 
specimens  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
and  stating  that  the  plant,  known  in  California  as 
Mountain  Balm,  had  an  extremely  bitter  taste.  (Amer. 
Journ.  of  Pharm.,  June,  1875,  p.  279).  In  February, 
1876,  Professor  Maisch  corrected  his  statement  "that 
the  leaves  had  a  bitter  taste,"  ascribing  to  them  their 
characteristic  aromatic  flavor.  In  1876,  the  February 
number  of  The  Pharmacist,  Chicago,  was  headed  by  a 
paper  from  Henry  S.  Wellcome,  Ph.G.,  (677),  in  which 
appeared  the  first  descriptive  article  in  pharmaceutical 
print  concerning  this  plant,  and  its  connection  with 
medicine  and  pharmacy.  This  article,  illustrated  with 
a  full  page  frontispiece,  described  the  plant,  gave  re- 


134  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

search  examinations  of  it,  and,  as  follows,  credits  Dr. 
Bundy  with  having  furnished  the  specimens: 

"Dr.  J.  H.  Bundy,  of  California,  to  whom  I  am  in- 
debted for  some  very  perfect  and  handsome  specimens, 
including  one  entire  shrub,  has  been  conducting  a  series 
of  investigations,  with  a  view  of  determining  its  precise 
physiological  action  upon  the  functions." 

It  is  evident  that  Dr.  Bundy  (Ilia)  sent  specimens 
of  the  plant  to  all  the  authorities  concerned  in  its  intro- 
duction, but  that  the  first  description  of  its  uses,  under 
the  common  name  "Yerba  Santa,"  was  written  by  him 
for  The  Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  1875. 
Let  us  in  this  connection  refer  to  our  study  of  Rhamnus 
purshiana,  or  "Cascara  sagrada,"  a  drug  introduced 
about  the  time  of  the  discussion  of  Eriodictyon. 

EUCALYPTUS  (Eucalyptus,  Blue  Gum  Leaves) 

First  mentioned  in  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1880.  Official  in  each 
edition  thereafter;  including  that  of  1910. 

Eucalyptus  globulus,  and  other  species  of  eucalyptus, 
are  indigenous  to  Australia,  where  the  leaves  are  em- 
ployed by  the  natives  as  a  remedy  for  intermittent 
fever.  It  was  thus  introduced  to  Europeans  towards 
the  middle  of  the  19th  century.  Possibly  its  employ- 
ment by  the  crew  of  the  ship  La  Favorita,  who  in  the 
vicinity  of  Botany  Bay  were  nearly  decimated  by 
fever,  from  which  they  recovered  through  the  use  of 
an  infusion  of  the  leaves  of  eucalyptus,  first,  through 
the  efforts  of  Dr.  Eydoux  and  M.  de  Salvy,  gave  the 
drug  conspicuity.  Dr.  Ramel,  of  Valencia,  however, 
has  the  credit  of  introducing  the  drug  to  the  Academy 
of  Medicine,  1866,  thus  bringing  it  to  the  attention  of 
the  medical  profession,  by  whom  it  is  now  used  in  extract 


EUONYMUS  135 

form,  in  other  directions  than  that  for  which  it  was 
originally  commended.  The  distilled  oil  of  eucalyptus 
has  now  an  extended  reputation  and  use.  The  date  of 
the  first  use  of  eucalyptus  by  the  natives  of  Australia 
is  unknown. 

EUONYMUS     (Wahoo) 

Introduced,  in  the  Secondary  List,  into  the  U.  S.  P.  in  I860, 
retaining  this  position  in  the  edition  of  1870.  It  was  official  in 
the  editions  of  1880,  1890  and  1900,  but  was  dropped  from  the 
1910  edition. 

Euonymus  atropurpureus  and  Euonymus  americqnus 
are  collected  indiscriminately,  both  varieties  being 
known  by  the  common  name  "Wahoo."  The  bark  of 
the  root  is  the  part  used.  In  the  form  of  a  decoction, 
this  remedy  was  originally  a  favorite  in  domestic  medi- 
cine, and  was  introduced  from  thence  to  the  more  sys- 
tematic medical  profession,  as  were  other  American 
drugs  of  like  nature.  It  occupied  a  place  in  all  the 
early  domestic  works  on  medicine,  and  seems  to  be 
alike  credited  to  the  American  Indians,  and  to  the 
early  settlers.  In  early  botanic  as  well  as  Eclectic 
medication,  "wahoo"  has  been  a  favorite  since  the  days 
of  Dr.  Beach.  Under  the  names  "nine  barks"  and 
"seven  barks"  it  has  a  domestic  record,  that  has  been 
transferred  to  various  proprietary  remedies  using  these 
titles.  From  euonymus  was  derived  a  so-called  Ec- 
lectic resinoid  or  "concentrate,"  that  during  the  craze 
for  "proximate  principles"  had  but  a  moderate  use. 
Twenty-five  years  later,  without  apparent  reason,  came 
from  England  an  abrupt  demand  for  the  drug,  that 
made  euonymus  more  conspicuous  than  ever  before. 
From  an  article  contributed  by  the  writer  in  1909,  let 
us  extract  as  follows: 

"THE  ENGLISH  EUONYMIN  CRAZE. — A  quarter  of  a 


136  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

century  after  the  resinoids  of  America  received  their 
deathblow  at  the  hands  of  the  Eclectics,  a  peculiar 
craze  for  Euonymin  struck  England.  The  American 
manufacturers'  lists  quote  two  colors  of  the  drug,  one 
green  and  the  other  brown.  These  two  forms  came  into 
English  demand,  and  owing  largely  to  their  exploitation 
by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Richardson,  of  London,  so  great 
was  the  'Euonymin'  craze  in  that  country,  that  within 
a  brief  period  American  resinoid  makers  were  over- 
whelmed with  orders  for  the  drug.  The  root,  root-bark, 
shrub,  and  the  shrub-bark  supplies  of  the  crude  drug 
employed  for  their  manipulation  became  exhausted, 
whilst  the  price  of  all  forms  of  the  crude  drug  doubled 
and  trebled.  We  know  of  single  orders  from  London 
for  one  thousand  pounds,  each  color  of  Euonymin, 
quick  delivery.  From  1885  to  1890  the  English  Euony- 
min craze  was  at  its  height,  and  during  those  years  the 
English  pharmaceutical  and  medical  press  teemed  with 
articles  concerning  the  wonderful  remedy!  The  various 
Euonymins  were  examined  for  ash,  and  the  old  question 
of  inorganic  admixture  was  naturally  revived,  especially 
with  the  green-colored  drug,  where  aluminum  hydroxide 
is  likely  to  be  employed  to  precipitate  the  chlorophyl- 
bearing  structures  and  associated  materials  from  the 
evaporated  alcohol  extract,  said  hydroxide  contaminat- 
ing the  product.  It  was  even  reported  that  one  lot  of 
Euonymin  contained  much  barium  carbonate,  a  state- 
ment difficult  to  accept!" 

As  abruptly  as  it  began  did  the  English  concentration 
fad  terminate,  leaving  but  a  few  energetic  resinoids, 
such  as  King's  Resin  of  Podophyllum  (representative 
of  the  class),  still  used  in  England,  as  it  is  both  used  as 
well  as  abused  today  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world, 


EUPATORIUM  137 

as  shown  in  current  pharmaceutical  and  therapeutical 
literature. 

EUPATORIUM 
(Eupatorium,  Thoroughwort,  "Boneset.") 

Rejected  from  1910  U.  S.  P.  Official  in  every  other  edition, 
from  1820. 

Eupatorium  perfoliatum,  boneset  or  thoroughwort, 
is  indigenous  to  the  temperate  regions  of  the  Eastern 
United  States.  In  the  form  of  an  infusion  or  tea,  it  was 
very  popular  with  the  settlers,  by  whom  it  was  em- 
ployed "in  every  well-regulated  household."  As  a 
bitter  tonic,  its  uses  became  known  to  the  early  mem- 
bers of  the  American  medical  profession,  its  praises 
being  handed  therefrom  to  physicians  of  the  present 
day.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  over  one 
hundred  years  before  there  was  in  print  an  American 
materia  medica,  eupatorium  was  a  favorite  remedy  in 
the  practice  of  American  physicians.  The  first  work  in 
Covers  touching  American  medicinal  plants, — Schopf, 
1785  (582), — gave  it  a  setting.  This  was  followed 
(1789)  by  Professor  B.  S.  Barton  (43),  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  his  Collections  of  American  Remedial 
Agents.  Medical  authorities  such  as  Thacher,  Bigelow, 
Chapman,  Rafinesque  and  Zollickoffer  pronounced  the 
highest  encomiums  on  the  value  of  eupatorium.  Its 
principal  field  of  usefulness  was  in  colds  and  influenza, 
Dr.  Anderson,  of  New  York,  issuing  in  1814  a  special 
treatise  on  the  subject  of  this  drug  and  its  uses.  So 
good  an  authority  as  Dr.  Hosack  testified  to  its  value 
in  intermittents,  but  its  chief  application  was  as  an  in- 
fluenza remedy.  Let  us  quote  from  the  celebrated 
botanical  explorer,  Pursh  (528),  concerning  its  early 
record  in  that  direction: 


138  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

"The  whole  plant  is  exceedingly  bitter,  and  has  been 
used  for  ages  past  by  the  natives  and  inhabitants  in 
intermittent  fevers.  ...  I  have  stated  a  case  of  its  effi- 
cacy in  those  diseases  in  a  letter  to  William  Royston, 
Esq.,  who  inserted  it  in  the  Medical  and  Physical  Jour- 
nal, in  which  I  stated  the  benefits  derived  from  this 
plant,  by  myself  and  others  during  my  stay  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Lake  Ontario,  when  both  the  influenza 
and  lake  fever  (similar  to  the  yellow  fever)  were  raging 
among  the  inhabitants." — Pursh's  Flora  Americanos 
Septentrionalis,  1914. 

FIG  US   (Fig) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  excepting  the  1910 
and  the  New  York  edition  of  1830.  (It  appears  in  the  Philadel- 
phia edition  of  1830). 

The  fig  tree,  Ficus  Carica,  is  native  to  Asia  Minor  and 
Syria,  extending  into  Africa  and  Oriental  countries,  the 
Mediterranean  islands,  and  elsewhere.  It  is  now  culti- 
vated in  the  temperate  countries  of  the  entire  world. 
The  fig  tree  and  its  leaves  are  repeatedly  mentioned  in 
the  Scriptures,  where  they  are  symbolical  of  peace  and 
plenty.  Charlemagne,  A.  D.  812,  ordered  its  cultivation 
in  Central  Europe,  and  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII,  fig 
trees,  still  standing  in  the  garden  of  Lambeth  Palace, 
were  brought  to  England,  though  the  fig  was  unques- 
tionably cultivated  in  England  before  that  date.  The 
fig  has  been  used  from  all  times  as  a  food  and  as  a  con- 
fection, and  it  is  repeatedly  mentioned  in  the  Arabian 
Nights.  From  the  Pharmacographia  of  Fliicklger  and 
Hanbury,  we  extract  as  follows: 

"Figs  were  a  valued  article  of  food  among  the  ancient 
Hebrews  and  Greeks,  as  they  are  to  the  present  day  in 
the  warmer  countries  bordering  the  Mediterranean. 


FICUS  139 

In  the  time  of  Pliny,  many  varieties  were  in  cultivation. 
The  Latin  word  Carica  was  first  used  to  designate  the 
dried  fig  of  Caria,  a  strip  of  country  in  Asia  Minor 
opposite  Rhodes,  an  esteemed  variety  of  the  fruit  cor- 
responding to  the  Smyrna  fig  of  modern  times. 

"In  a  diploma  granted  by  Chilperic  II,  king  of  the 
Franks,  to  the  monastery  of  Corbie,  A.  D.  716,  mention 
is  made  of  'Karigas'  in  connection  with  dates,  almonds 
and  olives,  by  which  we  think  dried  figs  (Caricce)  were 
intended.  Dried  figs  were  a  regular  article  of  trade 
during  the  middle  ages,  from  the  southern  to  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Europe.  In  1380  the  citizens  of  Bruges,  in 
regulating  the  duties  which  the  'Lombards,'  i.  e. 
Italians,  had  to  pay  for  their  imports,  quoted  also  figs 
from  Cyprus  and  from  Marbella,  a  place  south-west 
of  Malaga. 

"In  England,  the  average  price  between  A.  D.  1264 
and  1398  was  about  l%d  per  lb.,  raisins  and  currants 
being  2%d." 

The  tri-lobed  leaf  of  ficus  is  synonymous  with  primi- 
tive religions,  and  it  has  occupied  a  more  or  less  con- 
spicuous place  in  symbolic  worship,  from  the  earliest 
date.  Let  us  quote: 

"Near  Cairo,  at  a  fountain  wherein  the  Virgin  Mary 
washed  her  infant's  clothes,  a  lamp  was,  three  centuries 
ago,  kept  burning  in  her  honor  in  the  hollow  of  an  old 
fig  tree,  which  had  served  them  as  a  place  of  shelter, 
according  to  the  'Itinerario  de  Antonio  Tenreio.' — 
From  Cultus  Arborum,  privately  printed,  author  un- 
named. 

"When  thou  has  turned  yonder  lane,  goatherd,  where 
the  oak  trees  are,  thou  wilt  find  an  image  of  a  fig  tree 
wood,  newly  carven;  three  legged  it  is,  the  bark  still 


140  PHAEMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

covers  it,  and  it  is  earless  withal.  A  right  holy  pre- 
cinct runs  round  it,  and  a  ceaseless  stream  that 
falleth  from  the  rocks  on  every  side." — Theocritus, 
Epigram  IV. 

FffiNICULUM  (Fennel,  Fennel  Seed) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  excepting  that  of 
New  York,  1830. 

Fennel,  Fceniculum  vulgare,  is  indigenous  from  the 
Caspian  Sea  to  the  Greek  peninsula  and  other  Mediter- 
ranean countries,  growing  wild  over  a  large  part  of 
Southern  Europe,  especially  hi  the  vicinity  of  the  sea. 
It  is  also  cultivated  in  favorable  localities,  as  in  Saxony, 
France  and  Italy.  Charlemagne  encouraged  its  culti- 
vation. Its  employment  in  Northern  Europe  has  been 
from  all  tune,  as  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  Anglo- 
Saxon  domestic  medical  recipes  dating  from  at  least 
the  llth  century  give  it  a  place.  The  use  of  the  seeds 
in  domestic  medication  in  the  form  of  infusion,  as  well 
as  its  employment  in  bread-making,  is  too  well  estab- 
lished to  need  more  than  a  mention.  The  various 
varieties  of  fennel  are  fully  described  in  all  works  on 
pharmacy.  To  attempt  to  give  references  to  its  liter- 
ature would  be  to  cite  every  work  on  medicine  and 
botany  from  the  earliest  time  to  the  present. 

FRANGULA  (Frangula,  Buckthorn) 

Introduced  in  1880.  Official  in  following  editions,  including 
1910.  See  also  Rhamnus-Purshiana. 

Buckthorn,  Rhamnus  Frangula,  grows  in  wet  places 
throughout  Europe,  Siberian  Asia,  and  the  Northern 
African  Coast.  From  a  very  early  date  it  has  been 
known  as  a  cathartic  as  well  as  a  coloring  agent.  A 
decoction  of  the  bark  has  been  in  domestic  use  both  as  a 


GALLA  141 

dye  for  cotton,  wool,  and  silk  fabrics,  and  as  a  cathartic, 
in  which  latter  direction  it  is  very  effective.  No  written 
professional  record  antedates  its  domestic  use,  and  per- 
haps as  a  "rheumatic  remedy,"  it  has  in  certain  forms 
of  that  ailment  no  domestic  superior.  This  drug  has 
been  practically  displaced  in  America  by  Rhamnus 
Purshiana. 

GALLA  (Nutgall) 
Official  in  every  issue  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Oak  galls,  Quercus  infedoria,  are  mentioned  by  Theo- 
phrastus  (633)  and  other  ancient  writers,  and  were 
prescribed  by  Alexander  Trallianus  (11)  as  a  remedy 
in  diarrhea.  They  are  derived  from  varieties  of  the  oak, 
Smyrna  being  one  of  the  export  points.  In  that  city 
we  have  seen  them  in  large  quantities,  in  process  of 
sorting  for  exportation.  In  our  study  of  Oriental 
products  in  Smyrna,  in  1906,  we  were  not  only  much 
interested  in  the  process  of  sorting  nutgalls,  but  were 
impressed  with  the  enormous  amounts  of  acorn  caps 
then  exported  to  Europe  for  tanning  purposes.  As  an 
astringent,  galls  have  long  been  employed  in  decoction 
in  domestic  practice  hi  the  countries  from  which  they 
are  obtained  as  excrescences  on  the  oak.  Fliickiger 
and  Hanbury  (240)  mention  nutgalls  as  follows: 

"The  earliest  accurate  descriptions  and  figures  of  the 
oak  and  the  insect  producing  the  galls  are  due  to  Olivier. 
Pliny  mentions  the  interesting  fact  that  paper  saturated 
with  an  infusion  of  galls  may  be  used  as  a  test  for  dis- 
covering sulphate  of  iron,  when  added  as  an  adulter- 
ation to  the  more  costly  verdegris;  this,  according  to 
Kopp,  is  the  earliest  instance  of  the  scientific  applica- 
tion of  a  chemical  reaction.  For  tanning  and  dyeing, 


142  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

galls  have  been  used  from  the  earliest  times;  during 
the  Middle  Ages,  however,  they  were  not  precisely  an 
article  of  great  importance,  being  then,  no  doubt,  for  a 
large  part  replaced  by  sumach. 

"Nutgalls  have  long  been  an  object  of  commerce 
between  Western  Asia  and  China.  Barbosa,  in  his 
Description  of  the  East  Indies,  written  in  1514,  calls 
them  Magican,  and  says  they  are  brought  from  the 
Levant  to  Cambay  by  way  of  Mekka,  and  that  they 
are  worth  a  great  deal  in  China  and  Java.  From  the 
statements  of  Porter  Smith  (605a),  we  learn  that  they 
are  still  prized  by  the  Chinese." 

GAMBIR  (Gambir) 

Introduced  in  1900,  to  replace  Catechu,  official  in  all  U.  S.  P's. 
until  that  date. 

Gambir  (or  gambier),  Ourouparia  gambir,  is  a  shrub 
native  to  the  countries  bordering  the  Straits  of  Malacca, 
being  found  also  in  Ceylon  and  India.  The  dried  juice 
of  an  Indian  tree  (Acacia  catechu  and  Acacia  sumo),  is 
often  confused  with  gambir,  and  its  extract,  (catechu  or 
cutch),  is  only  too  often  substituted  therefor.  Gambir 
has  been  obtained  from  the  Orient  from  the  beginning 
of  historical  records,  and  in  those  countries,  mixed  with 
other  substances,  seems  ever  to  have  been  used  as  an 
astringent  in  domestic  medicine.  Both  gambir  and 
catechu,  as  these  products  are  often  called,  indifferently, 
have  ever  been  articles  of  export  to  China,  Arabia  and 
Persia,  but  were  not  brought  into  Europe  until  the  17th 
century.  They  are  similarly  astringent,  and  although  the 
U.  S.  P.,  1900  edition,  drops  the  word  catechu,  it  is 
questionable  whether,  in  commerce,  a  close  distinction 
is  drawn  in  extractive  products.  The  history  of  Gam- 


GAMBIR  143 

bir,  as  related  by  Fliickiger,  is  of  much  interest.  We 
present  it,  as  follows: 

"Gambier  is  one  of  the  substances  to  which  the  name 
of  Catechu  or  Terra  Japonica  is  often  applied ;  the  other 
is  Cutch.  By  druggists  and  pharmaceutists  the  two 
articles  are  frequently  confounded,  but  in  the  great 
world  of  commerce  they  are  reckoned  as  quite  distinct. 
In  many  price-currents  and  trade-lists  Catechu  is  not 
found  under  that  name,  but  appears  only  under  the 
terms  Cutch  and  Gambier. 

"Crawfurd  asserts  that  gambier  has  been  exported 
from  time  immemorial  to  Java  from  the  Malacca 
Straits.  This  statement  appears  highly  questionable. 
Rumphius,  who  resided  in  Amboyna  during  the  second 
half  of  the  17th  century,  was  a  merchant,  consul  and 
naturalist;  and  in  these  capacities  he  became  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  products  of  the  Malay  Archipelago 
and  adjacent  regions,  as  the  six  folio  volumes  of  his 
Herbarium  Amboinense,  illustrated  by  587  plates, 
amply  prove. 

"Among  other  plants,  he  figures  Uncaria  Gambier, 
which  he  terms  Funis  uncatus,  and  states  to  exist  under 
two  varieties,  the  one  writh  broad,  and  the  other  with 
narrow  leaves.  The  first  form,  he  says,  is  called  in 
Malay  Daun  Gatta  Gambir,  on  account  of  the  bitter 
taste  of  its  leaves,  which  is  perceptible  in  the  lozenges 
(trochisci)  called  Gatta  Gambir,  so  much  so  that  one 
might  suppose  they  were 'made  from  these  leaves, 
which,  however,  is  not  the  case.  He  further  asserts  that 
the  leaves  have  a  detergent,  drying  quality  by  reason 
of  their  bitterness,  which  is  nevertheless  not  intense, 
but  quite  bearable  in  the  mouth;  that  they  are  masti- 
cated instead  of  Pinang  (Betel  nut)  with  Siri  (leaf  of 


144  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Piper  Betle)  and  lime;  that  the  people  of  Java  and  Bali 
plant  the  first  variety  near  their  houses  for  the  sake  of 
its  fragrant  flowers;  but  though  they  chew  its  leaves 
instead  of  Pinang,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  it  is 
this  plant  from  which  the  lozenges  Gotta  are  com- 
pounded, for  that  indeed  is  quite  different. 

"Thus,  if  we  may  credit  Rumphius,  it  would  seem  that 
the  important  manufacture  of  gambier  had  no  existence 
at  the  commencement  of  the  last  century." 

GAULTHERIA    (THE  OIL)' 

GAULTHERIA  (Wintergreen,  Partridge  Berry) 

Gaultheria  (leaves).  Mentioned  in  Secondary  List  of  1820, 
same  in  1828.  Official  in  1830,  both  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
editions,  and  in  all  later  editions  until  1890,  when  Gaultheria 
Leaves  were  dropped,  and  Oil  of  Gaultheria,  (official  in  all  editions, 
from  1820  on),  remained  alone.  In  1910  the  name  "Gaultheria" 
was  dropped,  being  replaced  by  "Methyl  Salicylate." 

The  first  record  of  the  therapeutical  use  of  oil  of 
gaultheria,  as  is  often  the  case  with  valuable  medicines, 
is  to  be  found  hi  empirical  medicine.  A  proprietary 
remedy,  very  popular  about  the  beginning  of  this  cen- 
tury under  the  name  "Panacea  of  Swaim,"  or  "Swaim's 
Panacea,"  introduced  this  drug. 

Gaultheria  gave  added  impetus  to  "Compound  Syrup 
of  Sarsaparilla,"  which  became  so  popular  as  to  force 
itself  on  the  attention  of  the  profession.  The  Sarsa- 
parilla Compound  of  the  name  of  "Sirup  Rob  Anti- 
Syphilitica"  was  closely  associated  with  Swaim's  Pana- 
cea, and  Ellis,  1843,  after  giving  the  formula  of  "Sirup 
Rob  Antisyphilitica"  in  his  Formulary,  p.  67,  says: 
"The  above  preparation  has  been  asserted,  by  the  New 
York  Medical  Society,  to  be  nearly  identical  with  the 
noted  Panacea  of  Swaim." 

»  This  article  largely  parallels  the  study  of  Gaultheria  by  the  author  printed  in  the 
Pharmaceutical  Renew,  Vol.  16.  No.  5. 


GAULTHERIA  145 

That  oil  of  gaultheria  was  a  constituent  of  Swaim's 
remedy,  and  that  it  was  brought  into  conspicuity 
therein,  may  also  be  seen  from  the  analysis  of  Swaim's 
Panacea  (by  Chilton),  recorded  in  the  Am.  Jour.  Med. 
Sciences,  1829,  p.  542.  The  following  reprint  from  an 
anonymous  writer  in  the  American  Journal  of  Phar- 
macy, 1831,  establishes  the  subject  more  clearly  in  that 
it  gives  a  very  fair  description  of  oil  of  gaultheria, 
as  well  as  making  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  it  is 
the  same  as  sweet  birch  oil,  and  showing  further  that 
many  different  plants  yield  the  same  oil: 

"Oil  of  Gaultheria  procumbens: — This  is  the  heaviest 
oil  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  for  I  have  found 
it  to  be  1.17.  This  furnishes  us  with  an  easy  mode  of 
testing  its  purity.  The  wonderful  success  of  Swaim's 
Panacea  has  brought  this  oil  into  great  vogue  with  all 
venders  of  Catholicons,  Panaceas,  and  Syrups  of 
Sarsaparilla. 

"It  appears  to  be  a  vegetable  principle  secreted  in 
plants  very  widely  separated  by  their  natural  affinities. 
The  Betula  lenta  or  Sweet  Birch  secretes  it  in  its  bark; 
the  Polygala  paucifolia  in  its  roots;  the  Spiraea  Ulmaria, 
the  Spircea  lobata  and  the  Gaultheria  hispidula  in  their 
roots  and  stalks." 

But  that  oil  of  wintergreen  was  used  somewhat  in 
domestic  medicine  about  that  date,  and  also  by  Dr. 
Wooster  Beach,  the  forerunner  of  Eclectic  medicine, 
is  evidenced,  for  Dr.  Beach  (49)  in  his  American  Prac- 
tice of  Medicine,  Vol.  Ill  (1833),  concerning  Gaultheria 
("Gaulthera")  repens,  states  that  "The  oil  relieves  the 
toothache." 

Antedating  this  paper,  the  reviewer  has  not  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  any  reference  whatever  to  oil  of  gaul- 


146  PHARMACOPEIA!;  DRUGS 

theria  being  used  in  medicine,  although  the  plants  that 
contain  it  were  generally  recognized  in  pharmacy,  the 
oil  being  distilled  by  primitive  methods  and  known  to 
druggists.  Thus,  as  showing  that  even  if  used  at  all,  it 
could  not  have  been  important,  reference  needs  only  be 
made  to  a  few  of  the  many  authorities  who  would  not 
have  overlooked  it,  had  it  been  thus  employed.  These 
are: 

Amoenitates  Academicae  III,  p.  14,  1787. 

"Gaultheria,  Kalm.  (385)  (Gen.  487).— Uses  foliorum 
in  infuso,  loca  These.  Dixit  plantam  Cl.  Kalmius  a 
D.  D.  Gaulthier,  Medico  Canadensi,  Botanico  eximio." 
No  reference  to  the  oil. 

Benj.  Smith  Barton.    Collections  (43.) 
Phila.  1798.  p.  19. 

"The  Gaultheria  procumbens,  which  we  call  Mountain 
Tea,  is  spread  very  extensively  over  the  more  barren, 
mountainous  part  of  the  United  States,"  etc.  Does  not 
mention  the  oil. 

Pharmacopeia  of  the  Mass.  Medical  Society  (503) 
Boston,  1808 

No  mention  of  the  oil  or  plant. 
W.  P.  C.  Barton,  Mat.  Med.  I,  p.  171,  1817.     (43a). 

Although  he  describes  the  medicinal  virtues  of  Gaul- 
theria in  detail,  he  does  not  mention  the  oil.    However, 
as  showing  that  oil  of  gaultheria  was  distilled  preceding 
1818,  I  will  cite 
Bigelow,  Amer.  Med.  Botany  (69),  II,  p.  28.  Boston,  1818. 

Pyrola  umbellata  (p.  15)  is  herein  called  Winter- 
green. 

Gaultheria  procumbens  (Partridge  Berry): — "The 
aromatic  flavor  of  the  Partridge  berry,  which  can  not 


GAULTHERIA  147 

easily  be  mistaken  by  those  who  have  once  tasted  it, 
may  be  recognized  in  a  variety  of  other  plants  whose 
botanical  habits  are  very  dissimilar. 

"It  exists  very  exactly  in  some  of  the  other  species  of 
the  same  genus,  particularly  in  Gaultheria  hispidula, 
also  in  Spircea  Ulmaria  and  the  root  of  Spiraea  lobata. 
It  is  particularly  distinct  in  the  bark  of  sweet  birch, 
Betula  lenta,  one  of  our  most  useful  and  interesting 
trees. 

"This  taste  and  odor  reside  in  a  volatile  oil,  which  is 
easily  separated  by  distillation.  The  essential  oil  of 
Gaultheria,  which  is  often  kept  in  our  druggists'  shops, 
is  of  a  pale  or  greenish-white  color,  and  perfectly  trans- 
parent. It  is  one  of  the  heaviest  of  the  volatile  oils,  and 
sinks  rapidly  in  water,  if  a  sufficient  quantity  be  added 
to  overcome  the  repulsion  of  the  two  heterogeneous 
fluids.  Its  taste  is  aromatic,  sweet,  and  highly  pungent. 

"The  oil  appears  to  contain  the  chief  medicinal  virtue 
of  the  plant,  since  I  know  of  no  case  in  which  the  leaves, 
deprived  of  their  aroma,  have  been  employed  for  any 
purpose.  They  are  nevertheless  considerably  astrin- 
gent, etc. 

"The  leaves,  the  essence,  and  the  oil  of  this  plant 
are  kept  for  use  in  the  apothecaries'  shops. 

"The  oil,  though  somewhat  less  pungent  than  those 
of  peppermint  and  origanum,  is  employed  for  the  same 
purposes,"  etc. 

In  this  connection,  as  indicating  that  the  oil  was 
unimportant,  perhaps  simply  an  article  of  curiosity  to 
pharmacists,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  American 
Dispensatory  of  J.  R.  Coxe,  1825,  mentions  oil  of  gaul- 
theria,  but  does  not  say  anything  with  regard  to  its 
value  or  use  in  medicine, 
a 


148  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

The  edition  of  1818  does  not  mention  the  plant  or 
oil  at  all. 

In  studying  the  pharmacopeial  record  of  gaultheria 
oil,  in  connection  with  its  materia  medica  and  dis- 
pensatory history,  the  fact  becomes  apparent  that:  oil 
of  gaultheria  was  made  in  a  primitive  way  by  country 
people  (as  is  still  largely  the  case),  about  the  beginning 
of  this  century.  Photographs  of  the  crude  still  used  in 
the  distillation  of  the  oil  of  birch  have  been  presented 
by  Dr.  Charles  G.  Merrell  to  the  Lloyd  Library. 

Oil  of  gaultheria  was  introduced  into  the  list  of  known 
essential  oil-bearing  plants  of  America  in  the  first  (1820) 
Pharmacopeia,  but  was  not  described.  Following  this, 
such  works  as  the  Dispensatories  and  American  Materia 
Medicas  gave  the  oil  a  complimentary  position,  but  it 
remained  of  no  importance  until  brought  forward  by 
the  analysis  of  Swaim's  Panacea.  Not  until  long  after 
1820  did  any  European  Dispensatory  or  Pharmacopeia 
give  it  position. 

SUMMARY. — Oil  of  gaultheria  was  distilled  for  drug- 
gists previous  to  1820,  but  no  public  description  of  the 
apparatus  or  method  was  printed. 

The  Pharmacopeia  of  the  United  States,  1820,  gave 
the  first  authoritative  process  of  making  it. 

It  was  prominently  introduced  to  the  profession  by 
the  New  York  Medical  Society,  1827,  under  whose 
auspices  the  oil  was  established,  as  a  characteristic  con- 
stitutent  of  Swaim's  Panacea,  the  report  being  pub- 
lished in  1829. 

We  know  of  no  pharmacopeial  or  authoritative  di- 
rection for  making  oil  of  gaultheria  from  any  source 
whatever  which  precedes  the  first  (1820)  Pharma- 
copeia of  the  United  States,  and  have  discovered  no 


BIRCH  OIL  STILLS  (Page  144) 
Upper.    TYPICAL  CONNECTICUT  BIRCH  OIL  DISTILLERY 

NEAR  NEW  LONDON,  CONNECTICUT 
Lower.     MODEL   OF  TYPICAL   NORTH  CAROLINA  BIRCH 

MILL  IN  NATIONAL  MUSEUM 
Presented  by  The  Wm.  S.  Merrell  Company. 


GAULTHERIA  149 

reference  to  its  being  made  from  gaultheria  or  sweet 
birch  preceding  Bigelow,  1818. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  although  the  plant  gaultheria 
has  the  advantage  concerning  conspicuity  of  name, 
the  same  date  of  introduction  and  same  reference, 
(Bigelow),  must  be  ascribed  to  both  oil  of  gaultheria 
and  oil  of  birch. 

SWAIM'S  PANACEA. — The  important  fact  elucidated 
by  the  foregoing  history  of  oil  of  gaultheria,  to-wit, 
that  it  first  received  recognition  in  this  once  popular 
remedy,  leads  to  a  few  words  concerning  this  compound. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  past  century,  a  French  propri- 
etary remedy,  "Rob  de  Laffecteur,"  was  very  popular 
throughout  France  and  her  colonies.  It  was  invented 
by  a  French  apothecary  Boiveau,  who  affixed  to  it  the 
name  of  Laffecteur  to  make  it  popular.  In  1811  certain 
New  York  physicians  used  this  "Rob  de  Laffecteur" 
with  satisfaction,  and  Dr.  McNevin,  who  obtained  the 
formula  from  a  French  chemist,  M.  Allion,  made  its 
composition  public. 

Mr.  Swaim,  a  bookbinder,  was  treated  by  Dr.  A.  L. 
Quackinboss  and  experienced  great  benefit  from  the 
remedy.  Procuring  the  formula  from  Dr.  Quackinboss, 
his  physician,  he  modified  it  considerably,  and  put  the 
mixture  on  the  market  under  the  name  "Swaim's  Pana- 
cea." This  became  very  popular,  and  at  last  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  medical  profession.  By  the  anal- 
ysis of  Mr.  Chilton,  1829,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
New  York  Medical  Society,  it  was  positively  shown 
that  Swaim  had  replaced  the  sassafras  of  Quackinboss' 
formula  by  wintergreen  oil,  and  had  also  introduced 
corrosive  sublimate  into  the  mixture. 


150  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Persons  interested  in  this  formula  and  subject  will 
find  detail  reports  as  follows: 

American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1827,  p.  123,  (17b). 

American  Journal  of  the  Medical  Sciences,  1829,  4, 
p.  530,  (17a),  and  5,  p.  542,  (17a). 

GELSEMIUM 

(Gelsemium,  Yellow  Jasmine  or  Jessamine) 

First  mentioned  in  1860,  Secondary  List.  Transferred  to 
Primary  List  in  1870.  Official  in  all  later  editions. 

Common  Names,  Yellow  Jessamine,  Jessamine,  Caro- 
lina Jessamine,  Wild  Woodbine,  White  Poison- Vine, 
White  Jessamine. 

Gelsemium  sempervirens  is  a  native  of  the  Southern 
United  States,  abounding  in  the  swamps,  woods  and 
thickets,  from  Virginia  to  Florida.  It  is  a  handsome 
climber,  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  length,  blooming  in 
early  spring,  its  flowers  being  overpoweringly  fragrant. 
The  name,  given  by  Jussieu,  was  derived  from  the 
Italian  word  Gelsomina,  meaning  jasmine.  But  it  is 
not  a  jessamine,  and  inasmuch  as  there  is  a  true  jessa- 
mine with  yellow  flowers,  E.  M.  Holmes  (322),  of 
London,  considers  it  unfortunate  that  the  term  yellow 
jessamine  has  been  applied  to  it.  This  common  name, 
however,  is  now  firmly  established.  Its  Italian  name, 
Gelsomina,  possibly  led  Eclectic  authors  to  use  the 
name  gelsemirmw  (instead  of  gelseim'wm),  a  term  found 
abundantly  in  early  Eclectic  literature,  and  not  yet 
altogether  displaced.  In  this  connection  it  may  be 
said  that  Professor  Scudder  invariably  used  the  word 
Gelseminum. 

MEDICAL  HISTORY. — Barton  and  his  co-laborers  did 
not  mention  gelsemium,  but  Rafinesque,  1830,  (535), 
gave  it  a  place,  stating  that  "root  and  flowers  are  nar- 


GELSEMIUM  151 

cotic,  their  effluvia  may  cause  stupor,  tincture  of  the 
root  is  used  for  rheumatism  in  frictions,"  a  statement 
taken  almost  literally  from  Elliott's  (227)  Botany  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  1821.  The  medical  record, 
(King)  (356),  had  its  origin  through  the  mistake  of  a 
servant  of  a  Southern  planter  who  was  afflicted  with 
fever.  This  servant,  by  error,  gave  his  master  a  de- 
coction of  gelsemium  root  instead  of  the  garden  plant 
intended.  Immediate  loss  of  muscular  power  and 
great  depression  followed,  all  control  of  the  limbs  was 
lost,  the  eyelids  drooped  and  could  not  be  voluntarily 
opened.  Death  seemed  imminent.  But  the  effects 
finally  wore  away  and  the  man  recovered,  free  from 
fever,  which  did  not  recur.  An  observing  physician 
took  this  experience  as  a  text,  and  prepared  from  gel- 
semium a  remedy  that  he  called  the  '  'Electrical  febri- 
fuge," which  attained  some  popularity.  Finally  the 
name  of  the  drug  concerned  was  given  to  the  profession. 
This  statement  is  found  in  the  first  edition  of  King's 
American  Eclectic  Dispensatory,  1852,  which  work 
actually  presented  gelsemium  to  the  world  of  medicine, 
although  the  plant  had  a  recorded  position  much 
earlier.  King's  article  on  gelsemium  was  reproduced 
in  substance  by  the  United  States  Dispensatory,  1854, 
none  of  the  preceding  nine  editions  of  that  work  having 
mentioned  the  drug.  But  the  fact  is,  that  Porcher,1 

1  Francis  Peyre  Porcher  was  born  December  14,  1824,  St.  John's,  Berkeley  Co.,  S.  C., 
being  the  descendant  of  a  French  Huguenot  family.  In  1847  he  graduated  from  the  South 
Carolina  State  Medical  Coljege,  Charleston,  where  he  afterward  became  a  professor  of 
Clinical  Medicine  and  Materia  Medica.  For  many  years  he  was  editor  of  the  Charleston 
Medical  Journal  and  Review,  was  corresponding  member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sci- 
ences, and  Fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  Philadelphia.  He  was  President  of  the  S.  C. 
Medical  Association,  and  during  the  Civil  War  was  Surgeon  in  Charge  of  the  Confederate 
Hospitals,  Norfolk  and  Petersburg,  Va.  In  1  849  he  contributed  a  "  Report  on  the  Indigenous 
Medicinal  Plants  of  South  Carolina,"  Am.  Med.  Assoc.,  176  pp.,  and  in  1854  wrote  for  the 
Am.  Med.  Assoc.  a  paper  on  "The  Medicinal  and  Toxicological  Properties  of  the  Crypto- 
" 


gamic  Plants  of  the  U.  S.,"  126  pp.  In  1863  he  wrote  his  (now  rare)  monumental  productio 
in  behalf  of  the  Confederacy,  "Resources  of  the  Southern  Fields  and  Forests,"  by  dire 
tion  of  the  Surgeon  General  of  the  C.  S.  A.  Dr.  Porcher  died  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Novem- 


152 PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

(520),  commended  gelsemium  in  his  report  to  the 
American  Medical  Association,  1849,  referring  to 
Frost's  Elements  of  Material  Medico,  (250),  South  Car- 
olina, as  well  as  to  several  local  journal  articles. 

For  a  long  time  following  1852,  when  King's  Amer- 
ican Dispensatory  appeared,  gelsemium  remained  an 
almost  exclusive  remedy  of  physicians  of  the  Eclectic 
school,  but  hi  1860  it  attained  a  position  in  the  United 
States  Pharmacopeia,  although  not  until  1880  did  that 
work  give  place  to  any  preparation  of  gelsemium.  At 
present  the  drug  is  in  much  favor  with  physicians 
generally.1 

GENTIANA  (Gentian) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Gentian,  Gentiana  lutea,  is  indigenous  to  the  moun- 
tainous parts  of  Middle  and  Southern  Europe,  being 
found  hi  the  Pyrenees,  the  Islands  of  Sardinia  and  Cor- 
sica, the  Alps,  and  elsewhere.  It  is  not,  however,  found 
in  the  British  Islands.  Gentian  is  mentioned  by  both 
Pliny  (514)  and  Dioscorides  (194),  its  name  being 
derived  from  Gentius,  a  king  of  Illyria,  B.  C.  180. 
Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  gentian  was  used  as  a 
domestic  medicine  and  as  an  antidote  to  poisons,  and  in 
recent  times  it  has  been  commended  as  an  antidote  or 
substitute  for  tobacco.  In  1865  a  very  popular  "To- 
bacco Antidote,"  twenty-five  cents  for  a  two  ounce 
package,  was  found  by  this  writer  to  be  a  mixture  of 

1  In  this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  Gelsemium  has  often  been  presented  by  such 
journal  contributors  as  Dre.  John  Scott,  Isaac  Ott,  E.  A.  Anderson,  G.  S.  Courtright,  W.  C. 
Hull,  and  many  others.  Professor  Roberts  Bartholow  gave  it  great  attention  in  his  Maleria 
Medico.,  and  also  in  journal  contributions  in  both  Europe  and  America.  Professor  T.  J. 
Wormley  gave  its  alkaloid  chemical  consideration,  while  Drs.  Ringer  and  Murrell  in  the 
London  Lancet,  1875-76-78,  made  admirable  researches.  The  American  interest  in  Gel- 
semium, outside  the  Eclectic  school,  notwithstanding  the  clinical  evidence  of  the  authorities 
we  have  mentioned,  and  others  who  might  be  named,  is  founded  on  the  work  of  Bartholow, 
Wormley,  Ringer  and  Murrell.  Professor  L.  E.  Sayre  of  the  University  of  Kansas  has  made 
the  most  recent  study  of  its  alkaloids. 


Upper.    TURKS  DIGGING  LICORICE  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  MEANDER 
Old  Roman  road  in  background. 

Lower.    TURKS  EATING  LUNCH    (Page  153,  No.  1) 

Licorice  in  background. 
Photographed  by  John  Uri  Lloyd. 


GLYCYRRHIZA  153 

licorice  root  3  parts,  and  gentian  1  part.  The  pro- 
moting advertisement  claimed  that  if  chewed  instead 
of  tobacco,  within  a  reasonable  time  it  "antidoted" 
the  desire  for  tobacco.  Be  it  remarked  that  about  that 
date  "fine  cut"  chewing  tobacco  (shredded  leaf)  was 
introduced  to  replace  "plug"  tobacco. 

Tragus  (650)  employed  the  dried  root  of  gentian  1552 
A.  D.  for  the  purpose  of  dilating  wounds.  Gentian  is 
now  in  common  use  in  medicine  as  a  bitter  tonic. 

GERANIUM  (Geranium,  Cranesbill) 

Official,  in  all  editions,  from  1820  to  1900.  Dropped  from  1910 
edition. 

Cranesbill,  Geranium  maculatum,  is  native  to  the  low- 
lands and  open  woods  and  copses  throughout  the  temper- 
ate Eastern  United  States.  Being  one  of  the  astringent 
domestic  remedies  used  in  the  form  of  infusion  or  de- 
coction in  diarrhea,  dysentery,  sore  mouth  and  similar 
diseases,  it  came  thus  to  the  attention  of  observing 
American  physicians,  whose  use  of  it  finally  led  to  its 
place  in  the  Pharmacopeia.  In  Eclectic  medication 
especially  geranium  is  much  valued,  and  occupies  a 
well-established  position  in  all  the  publications  of  that 
school  of  physicians. 

GLYCYRRHIZA  (Licorice  Root) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910.  U.  S.  P. 
1910  gives  as  source  of  Licorice  Root  Glycrrhiza  glabra  typica 
(Spanish  Licorice)  or  of  Glycyrrhiza  glabra  glandulifera  (Russian 
Licorice) . 

Licorice,  the  dried  rhizome  and  root  of  glycyrrhiza, 
is  mentioned  by  Oribasius  (479a)  and  Marcellus  (404) 
in  the  4th  century,  and  by  Paulus  ^Egineta  (494)  in  the 
7th  century.  It  was  known  in  the  time  of  Dioscoridee 


154  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

(194),  and  was  commonly  known  in  Europe  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  Its  price  in  England,  in  the  day  of 
Henry  III,  was  equal  to  that  of  grains  of  paradise.  It 
was  one  of  the  articles  paying  duty  to  aid  in  the  repair- 
ing of  London  Bridge  in  the  day  of  Edward  I,  1305. 
Saladinus,  (570),  in  the  15th  century,  mentioned  it  as 
an  Italian  medicine,  and  it  was  commonly  known  in 
the  city  of  Frankfort  in  1450.  Matthioli  (414),  in  1574, 
states  that  the  juice,  in  the  form  of  pastilles,  was 
brought  every  year  from  Apulia.  Indeed,  the  record  of 
licorice  is  to  the  effect  that  it  has  been  an  article  of  do- 
mestic use,  as  a  "sweet  wood"  for  chewing,  as  a  con- 
stitutent  of  medicinal  pastes,  and  in  the  form  of  a 
common  water  extract,  since  the  earliest  times.  It  is 
found  in  large  quantities  in  the  localities  where  it  is 
cultivated,  in  Sicily,  Italy  and  Spain,  while  in  compar- 
atively recent  years  whilst  traveling  in  Turkey  we  have 
noted  the  immense  amounts  of  licorice  roots  annually 
collected  in  the  valleys  of  the  Hermes  and  the  Kayster, 
Turkey,  where  it  has  probably  grown  wild  from  all  times. 
While  studying  the  products  of  those  valleys,  we  ob- 
served the  diggers  of  licorice,  who,  contrasted  with  well- 
to-do  Turks,  are  on  a  par  with  our  American  root  dig- 
gers. They  sell  their  product  to  the  local  depots  of  the 
American  Tobacco  Company.  From  daylight  to  dark 
these  people  work,  for  a  bare  living. 

The  licorice  plant  reminded  us  somewhat  of  the  wild 
"Trumpet  Creeper"  of  Kentucky,  which,  once  estab- 
lished, is  so  persistent  in  root  shoots.  We  found  lic- 
orice creeping  up,  even  through  the  crevices  of  the 
stones  of  the  old  Roman  roads  in  the  valley  of  the 
Meander,  leading  to  Ayasoluk.  This  reminded  us  that 
we  had  seen  the  trumpet  creeper  shoots,  forty  feet  from 


Upper.    NIOBE  WEEPING  FOR  HER  CHILDREN 

This  historic  figure  of  "The  Sorrowing  Mother,"  carved  on  the  mountain  top,  antedates 
history    It  overlooks  the  valley  of  the  Meander,  noted  for  wild  licorice. 

(Contrast  with  persons  at  its  base.) 

Lower.    VALLEY  OF  THE  MEANDER    (Page  154,  No.  2) 

Historically  celebrated  from  all  time.    Old  Roman  road  to  the  right. 

Photographed  by  Mrs.  John  Uri  Lloyd. 


GOSSYPII  CORTEX  155 

a  parent  stock,  creeping  through  a  floor  crevice  in  a 
Kentucky  home,  even  slipping  up  between  the  stones 
of  the  hearth. 

GOSSYPII  CORTEX  (Cotton  Root  Bark) 

Introduced  into  U.  S.  P.  in  1860,  Secondary  List.  Official 
from  1870  until  1900.  Dropped  from  1910  editipn. 

Gossypium,  the  fiber,  has  been  official  in  all  editions  from  1850. 

Cotton  root  bark,  Gossypii  radicis  cortex,  is  used  as  a 
stimulant  and  emmenagogue,  the  decoction  being  con- 
sidered, in  the  days  of  American  slavery,  capable  of  pro- 
ducing abortion.  It  was  thus  introduced  by  the  ne- 
groes, and  from  thence  came  into  the  hands  of  the  pro- 
fession, being  first  employed  by  physicians  of  the 
Southern  United  States.  Following  this  introduction, 
Wallace  Brothers,  of  Statesville,  South  Carolina,  at  the 
request  of  the  writer,  (Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  [217] 
February,  1876),  forwarded  to  him  a  barrel  of  fresh 
cotton  root  bark,  preserved  in  alcohol.  This  was  made 
into  a  fluid  extract,  and  distributed  to  American  prac- 
ticing physicians,  with  a  request  that  the  results  of  its 
use  be  reported,  in  contrast  with  the  preparation  from 
the  dried  bark,  deemed  by  some  to  be  inert.  A  sum- 
mary of  more  than  forty  reports  from  practicing  physi- 
cians, together  with  remarks  concerning  the  preparation 
of  gossypium  employed,  was  read  before  the  Twenty- 
Fourth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Pharma- 
ceutical Association,  1876.  This  treatise,  together  with 
the  increasing  demand  from  physicians  throughout 
America  for  preparations  of  gossypium  root  bark,  led 
to  its  introduction  to  the  Pharmacopeia  of  the  United 
States.  The  credit  for  the  discovery  of  its  uses  must  be 
given  to  the  negroes  of  the  South.  The  Lilly  Scientific 
Bulletin,  Series  1,  No.  10,  July,  1920,  "Contribution 


156  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

to  the  Pharmacology  of  Cotton  Root  Bark,"  by  Charles 
R.  Eckler,  M.S.,  devotes  much  research  to  gossypium. 
The  results  conflict  with  the  opinions  of  physicians 
using  the  drug  in  clinical  practice. 

Cotton  fiber  and  root  bark  are  obtained  from  one  or 
more  cultivated  species  of  Gossypium  herbaceum. 

GRAN  AT  UM  (Pomegranate) 

Granatum  has  an  interesting  history.  The  earliest  U.  S.  P., 
1820,  mentions  it.  but  in  the  Secondary  List,  the  part  used  being 
designated  as  "Cortex  fructus.  The  rind  of  the  fruit."  The 
Philadelphia  edition  of  1830  transfers  the  drug  to  the  Primary 
List,  but  retains  the  description  of  Granatum  as  "The  rind  of  the 
fruit."  In  the  New  York  edition  of  1830  we  find  the  first  mention 
of  the  use  of  "Granati  Cortex,  Pomegranate  Bark,"  which  alone  is 
recognized.  From  1840  to  1870,  both  Pomegranate  Rind  and  the 
Bark  of  the  root  are  official.  The  1880  U.  S.  P.  limits  Granatum 
to  "The  bark  of  the  root,"  while  all  later  editions  admit  the  bark 
of  both  stems  and  roots. 

Punica  Granatum  has  been  in  cultivation  from  the 
earliest  historical  tunes.  It  is  now  found  in  all  warm 
countries  of  the  world,  and  as  an  ornamental  plant  is 
frequently  cultivated  in  this  country,  where  it  requires 
protection  during  the  winter  season,  as  it  will  not  endure 
the  cold.  It  is  recorded  that  in  1838  the  pomegranate 
trees  in  the  neighborhood  of  London  were  killed  by  the 
frost.  The  form  of  pomegranate  generally  grown  as 
ornament  is  the  double  variety,  which  is  consequently 
barren.  The  fruit  has  been  esteemed  a  delicacy  from 
the  most  ancient  time,  and  is  often  offered  for  sale  at 
our  fruit  stands.  In  the  West  Indies,  where  the  plant 
would  thrive  naturally,  it  is  not  extensively  cultivated, 
and  a  writer  on  botanical  history,  (C.  G.  Lloyd),  who 
has  visited  all  these  islands,  does  not  remember  to  have 
seen  it  or  its  fruit  wild.  Like  all  cultivated  plants  it  is 
liable  to  variation,  and  several  of  its  forms  have  been 


GRANATUM  157 

considered  distinct  species  and  so  named  by  several 
authors.  They  are  now  all  considered  forms  of  one 
species. 

The  pomegranate  shrub,  according  to  De  Candolle 
(122),  was  originally  a  native  of  Persia  and  adjacent 
countries,  but  has  been  cultivated  and  naturalized  in 
the  Mediterranean  countries  at  such  an  early  date  that 
it  has  even  been  considered  indigenous  to  these  sections. 

Pomegranate  was  included  among  the  vegetable  prod- 
ucts held  sacred  by  the  Assyrians  (86)  and  Egyptians 
(688) ;  the  latter  made  it  a  custom  to  place  in  the  graves 
of  their  dead,  fruits  of  the  field  and  garden,  among  them 
pomegranates,  specimens  of  which  are  preserved  to 
the  present  day  (239).  The  pomegranate  had  un- 
doubtedly an  occult  significance  with  the  ancient 
nations.  It  was  frequently  used  as  a  mystical  emblem 
in  adorning  the  capitals  of  Assyrian  and  Egyptian 
columns,  and  the  Bible  (I  Kings,  vii:  18,  20),  tells  us 
that  in  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  the  capitals 
of  the  columns  were  decorated  with  a  "network  of 
pomegranates."  Also,  (Ex.  xxviii,  33,  34),  the  hem  of 
the  high  priest's  robe  was  adorned  with  imitations  of 
pomegranates  in  blue,  purple  and  scarlet,  alternating 
with  bells  of  gold.  The  pomegranate  was  one  of  the 
fruits  brought  to  Moses  by  the  men  sent  to  spy  out  the 
land  of  promise  (302).  Many  other  passages  scattered 
throughout  the  Bible  testify  to  the  esteem  in  which  the 
tree  and  the  fruit  (then  called  rimmon),  were  held  in 
ancient  times.  The  fruit  and  seed  of  the  pomegranate 
are  often  mentioned  in  the  Arabian  Nights. 

Pomegranates  were  represented  on  Carthaginian 
and  Phenician  medals  (422)  and  on  the  reverse  of  coins 
of  the  island  of  Rhodes  (688).  In  Greek  mythology 


158  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  pomegranate  is  very  conspicuous,  symbolizing 
fecundity  and  abundance.  The  fruit  was  dedicated  to 
Juno,  a  deity  always  represented  in  sculptures  as  hold- 
ing a  pomegranate  (191). 

The  Greek  authors,  as  Theophrastus  (633),  de- 
scribed the  pomegranate  under  the  names  of  "roa" 
and  "roa  side;"  also,  Dioscorides  (194)  quite  explicitly 
sets  forth  the  medicinal  properties  of  different  parts  of 
the  plant.  Among  Roman  authors  who  describe  the 
pomegranate  and  its  uses  are  Cato  Censorius  (132). 
Pliny,  Celsus  (136),  and  others.  Subsequent  writers, 
for  example  the  Arabians,  in  the  9th  century  also  refer 
to  the  pomegranate,  but  seem  to  have  mainly  repeated 
the  substance  of  the  writings  of  their  Greek  and  Roman 
predecessors  (422).  The  Arabian  Nights  (Burton 
edition)  speaks  of  the  use  of  the  seed,  cooked,  as  fol- 
lows: "Every  day  I  cook  five  dishes  for  dinner,  and  the 
like  for  supper;  and  yesterday  they  sought  of  me  a 
sixth  dish,  yellow  rice,  and  a  seventh,  a  mess  of  cooked 
pomegranate  seed."  (Adventures  of  Mercury  Ali  of 
Cairo,  Vol.  VII,  p.  185).  Of  the  writers  of  the  Middle 
Ages  may  be  mentioned  Tragus  and  J.  Bauhinus  (47), 
the  latter  giving  a  most  detailed  compilation  of  that 
which  was  known  before  his  time  on  the  pomegranate, 
including  connected  myths.  It  was  not  until  the  present 
century,  however,  that  the  literature  of  pomegranate 
was  enriched  by  the  study  of  its  chemical  aspects. 

GRINDELIA  (Grindelia) 

Grinddia  rdbusta  was  introduced  into  the  Pharmacopeia  of 
1880.  In  1890  and  1900  two  varieties  are  named,  G.  robusta  and 
G.  squarrosa,  while  in  the  U.  S.  P.  1910,  G.  robusta  is  dropped  al- 
together, the  varieties  mentioned  being  "Grindelia  camporum 
Greene,  or  Grindelia  cuneifolia  Nuttall,  or  Grindelia  squarrosa 
(Pursh)  Dunal." 


GUAIACUM  159 

Grindelia  robusta,  a  California  plant,  as  found  in 
commerce,  is  of  questionable  authenticity,  owing  to 
the  near  relationship  of  other  very  similar  species  of 
grindelia.  It  early  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  in  their  mission  stations  along  the  coast,  it 
being  used  by  the  natives  before  the  conquest  of  the 
country  by  the  Americans.  Dr.  C.  A.  Canfield,  of 
Monterey,  Calif.,  about  1863,  called  attention  to  grin- 
delia as  a  remedy  in  the  poison  of  Rhus  Toxicodendron, 
its  native  use  in  that  direction  having  become  known 
to  him.  Mr.  James  G.  Steele,  of  San  Francisco,  1875, 
contributed  a  paper  to  the  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  commending  grindelia  in  this  direction. 
After  that  time  the  drug  rapidly  crept  into  favor  with 
the  profession  of  medicine.  Its  introduction  is  to  be 
credited  to  Parke,  Davis  &  Company,  of  Detroit. 
See  "New  Preparations"  (467). 

GUAIACUM  (Guaiac) 

Both  the  resin  and  the  wood  of  Guaiacum  were  recognized 
from  1820  to  the  year  1890,  the  1820  edition  giving  as  its  common 
name  Lignum  vitce,  The  editions  of  1900  and  1910  limit  the 
official  drug  to  the  "resin  of  the  wood  of  Guaiacum."  Officially 
recognized  by  the  U.  S.  P.  1910  as  derived  from  Guaiacum  offi- 
cinale  or  from  Guaiacum  sanctum. 

Guaiacum  is  a  low  evergreen  tree,  native  to  the 
West  Indies  and  Southern  Florida.  Its  earliest  im- 
portation into  Europe  was  from  San  Domingo,  as 
recorded  by  Oviedo  (487),  1526  A.  D.;  but  that  it  was 
known  previously  in  Germany,  is  proved  by  treatises 
by  Nicholaus  Poll  (517),  1517;  Leonard  Schmaus  (578), 
1516;  and  Ulrich  von  Hutten  (332),  1518,  by  whom  it 
is  given  a  place.  Oviedo,  who  landed  in  America  in 
1514,  observed  the  tree,  called  by  the  natives  Guayacan. 


160  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

This  drug,  and  its  resin  as  well,  was  used  empirically  in 
domestic  (native)  medicine  before  its  introduction  to 
the  profession. 

Resin  of  Guaiacum  is  a  product  obtained  from  slow 
combustion,  wherein,  by  a  very  crude  method,  a  hor- 
izontal guaiacum  log,  raised  from  the  ground,  is  slowly 
burned,  the  liquid  resin  collecting  in  grooves  cut  in  the 
log.  The  resin  is  used  more  extensively  than  is  the 
wood. 

GUARANA  (Guarana) 

Introduced  into  Pharmacopeia  in  edition  of  1880.  Official  in 
later  Pharmacopeias,  through  1910. 

Guarana,  a  dried  paste  from  the  crushed  seeds  of 
Paullinia  Cupana,  was  introduced  into  France  from 
South  America  by  a  French  officer  in  1817,  as  a  product 
of  an  unknown  plant.  This  paste  was  made  and  used 
by  the  tribe  of  Indians  (Guaranis),  from  whom  it  took 
its  name.  In  1826  Martius  (409)  identified  the  plant 
which  is  called  Paullinia  sorbilis  in  deference  to  Simon 
Paulli  (493).  In  1840,  (Am.  Journ.  Pharm.),  (I7b), 
Dr.  Gravelle  presented  to  the  Paris  Society  of  Medicine 
a  specimen  of  guarana,  which  was  analyzed  by  M.  de 
Chastetus,  who  discovered  therein  "a  crystaUizable 
matter,  which  possessed  the  chemical  properties  of 
caffeine."  In  1888,  Professor  H.  H.  Rusby,  (564) 
(Amer.  Journ.  of  Pharmacy,  p.  267),  authoritatively 
described  the  manner  in  which  the  natives  prepared 
Guarana  from  the  seed,  and  in  their  crude  way  pro- 
duced the  smoked  sausage-like  rolls  familiar  in  com- 
merce. The  date  of  its  discovery  by  the  Indian  tribes 
whose  preparation  and  use  of  guarana  as  "a  stimulating 
substance"  led  to  its  European  notice,  is  lost  to  record. 


HAEMATOXYLON  161 

HAEMATOXYLON  (Logwood) 
In  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.  from  1820  to  1900.  Dropped  in  1910. 

Logwood,  Hematoxylon  campechianum,  L.,  is  the 
wood  of  a  tree  used  throughout  the  civilized  world  as  a 
dye  stuff,  its  use  being  most  largely  in  this  direction. 
The  tree  is  native  to  Central  America,  it  being  abundant 
in  Campeachy,  Honduras,  and  other  sections  of  that 
country.  Fliickiger  (239)  accepts  that  the  wood  was 
introduced  into  England  in  the  latter  half  of  the  16th 
century,  because  in  1581  its  use  was  abolished  by  act 
of  Parliament,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  considered  a 
poor  substitute  for  better  dyes,  and  it  was  viewed  in 
the  light  of  a  sophisticant.  Eighty  years  later,  probably 
because  a  better  study  had  rendered  its  use  more  prac- 
ticable, logwood  was  again  permitted  to  enter  England. 
According  to  De  Laet  (368),  1633,  one  of  the  names 
by  which  it  was  commonly  known,  Peachwood,  was  de- 
rived from  the  town  of  Campeachy,  whence  the  wood 
was  exported  in  quantities  to  Europe.  The  accounts 
of  travelers  and  sailors  at  the  time  of  the  great  excite- 
ment produced  by  the  discovery  of  the  abundant 
sources  of  wealth  in  the  new  world  almost  universally 
mentioned  logwood.  This  is  evident  from  such  records 
as  appear  in  sailors'  descriptions  of  their  voyages,  in 
Chambers  Miscellany,  and  elsewhere. 

In  the  form  of  a  decoction  of  its  chips,  logwood  has 
been  a  favorite  in  domestic  medicine,  and  owing  to  its 
mild  astringency,  it  was  used  for  a  considerable  time 
by  licensed  physicians.  In  1746,  under  the  name  Lig- 
num tinctile  Campechense,  it  became  official  in  the 
London  Pharmacopeia. 


162  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

HAMAMELIDIS  CORTEX  ET  FOLIA 

Hamamelis  Leaves,  official  in  1880  and  1890.  Both  the  bark 
and  twigs,  and  the  leaves,  official  in  1900.  Harnamelis  not  recog- 
nized in  1910,  excepting  as  the  "distilled  extract  of  Witch  Hazel," 
Hamamelis  Water. 

Witch-hazel,  Hamamelis  virginiana.  The  decoction 
and  infusion  of  the  bark,  as  well  as  of  the  leaves  of  this 
shrub,  have  been  in  common  use  from  the  days  of  the 
American  Indian,  whose  use  of  the  plant  led  the  settlers 
to  its  employment.  They  also  used  the  leaves  as  well 
as  the  pounded  bark  in  the  making  of  a  poultice  for 
topical  use  in  inflammation.  These  domestic  uses  of 
hamamelis  led  to  its  introduction  to  the  medical  pro- 
fession at  an  early  date.  A  mixture  of  hydrastis  root 
and  hamamelis  leaves  was  held  in  high  repute  by  Pro- 
fessor John  King,  M.  D.,  (356),  as  a  wash  and  as  an 
injection.  The  preparation  known  as  "distilled  hama- 
melis," or  "distilled  extract  of  hamamelis,"  introduced 
by  Dr.  Pond  about  the  middle  of  the  19th  century, 
became  very  popular,  and  has  an  increasing  demand  at 
the  present  time,  a  substitute  being  introduced  into  the 
Pharmacopeia  under  the  title  "Hamamelis  Water." 
The  writer  is  now  engaged  on  a  detailed  study  of 
"Distilled  Extract  of  Witch  Hazel,"  not  belonging  in 
this  volume,  concerning  which  he  has  collected  much 
interesting  information,  including  its  authoritative 
early  record. 

HEDEOMA  (Pennyroyal) 

Not  found  in  the  U.  S.  P.  of  1820,  or  in  the  2d  edition,  in  1828, 
but  is  named  in  both  the  New  York  and  Philadelphia  editions  of 
1830.  Official  in  all  editions  thereafter  until  and  including  1900. 
Dropped  from  1910  U.  S.  P. 

American  pennyroyal,  Hedeoma  pulegioides,  is  a 
fragrant  herb  native  to  America,  and  generally  dis- 


HUMULUS  163 

tributed  throughout  the  temperate  portions  of  North 
America.  It  was  used  by  the  Indians  in  the  form  of 
decoctions  and  infusions,  as  well  as  to  keep  off  insects, 
and  by  them  it  was  introduced  to  the  settlers,  coming 
thence  to  the  attention  of  the  medical  profession.  Its 
chief  use  at  the  present  time  is  in  the  making  of  the 
volatile  oil  distilled  therefrom,  which  is  mainly  em- 
ployed as  a  protection  against  insects.  This  plant  must 
not  be  confused  with  the  pennyroyal  of  Europe,  a  small, 
aromatic  herb,  Mentha  pulegium,  common  throughout 
Europe,  extending  northward  to  Sweden,  eastward  to 
Asia  Minor  and  Persia,  and  southward  to  Abyssinia 
and  Arabia.  The  European  pennyroyal,  also  a  common 
domestic  remedy,  has  fallen  into  therapeutic  neglect 
by  the  profession. 

HUMULUS  (Hops) 
Official  in  every  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Hops,  Humulus  Lupulus,  is  a  climbing  vine  found  in 
thickets  and  along  river  banks  throughout  Europe,  and 
extending  to  and  beyond  the  Caucasus  and  Caspian 
regions.  Introduced  into  America,  hops  have  become 
acclimated,  and  especially  in  the  Northwest  are  culti- 
vated in  immense  quantities.  Hop  gardens  existed  in 
France  and  Germany  in  the  8th  and  9th  centuries,  and 
"Bavarian  hops"  were  esteemed  in  the  llth  century. 
It  has  been  asserted  that  William  the  Conqueror,  1069, 
granted  the  use  of  land  for  hop  culture  in  England. 
The  original  use  of  hops  was  in  decoction  as  a  stomachic 
medicine,  or  a  mild  soporific,  whilst  their  employment 
in  the  making  of  malted  liquors  is  familiar  to  all.  As  a 
tonic,  the  hop  is  still  valued  in  simple  decoction  and  in 
extract,  both  by  the  people  and  the  profession  of  medi- 


164  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

cine.    A  "hop  bag"  wetted  with  alcohol  and  placed  hot, 
on  an  inflamed  part,  is  of  great  service. 

HYDRASTIS  (Golden  Seal) 

Introduced  in  1860  (Secondary  List).  Official  in  all  later 
editions. 

Hydrastis  canadensis  is  a  native  of  North  America. 
Once  abundant  in  the  thick  woodlands  of  the  Central 
West,  in  the  territory  bordering  the  Ohio  River  from 
Illinois  to  Virginia,  it  is  now,  in  its  native  home,  prac- 
tically exterminated.  Hydrastis  is  known  by  the  com- 
mon names  golden  seal,  yellow  puccoon,  yellow  root, 
and  other  similar  expressive  appellations  signifying  its 
color,  or  applying  to  its  nature.  The  root  of  this  plant, 
of  a  rich  golden  yellow,  like  its  companion,  sanguinaria, 
which,  however,  has  a  red  color,  was  used  by  the  Indians 
as  a  cuticle  stain,  and  also  as  a  dye  for  their  garments. 
Being  exceedingly  bitter,  it  was  also  useful  in  repelling 
insects,  when  mixed  with  grease  and  smeared  upon  the 
skin,  and  hence  served  a  double  purpose  in  the  use  of 
primitive  man.  Its  first  printed  conspicuity  came  from 
a  paper  read  by  Mr.  Hugh  Martin  (408)  before  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  1782,  published  in 
their  Transactions,  1793,  under  the  title  "An  Account 
of  some  of  the  Principal  Dyes  employed  by  the  North 
American  Indians"  By  reason  of  its  red  berry,  hy- 
drastis  was  also  called  ground  raspberry.  Although  it 
had  been  mentioned  in  various  medical  publications, 
the  drug  was  held  in  slight  repute,  and  was  of  no  com- 
mercial importance  until  the  advent  of  the  American 
Eclectics,  who  first  prepared  its  alkaloidal  salts  for 
professional  use.  (388a).  Its  medical  history  therefore 
dates  from  its  use  by  the  Indians,  who  introduced  it  as 


HYDRASTIS  CANADENSIS    (Page  164) 
Presented  by  H.  K.  Mulford  Company. 


HYDRASTIS  165 

a  native  remedy  to  the  earliest  botanical  explorers,  and 
to  settlers.  Its  therapeutic  qualities  were  overlooked, 
however,  by  Kalm  (350),  1772;  Cutler  (178),  1783,  and 
Schopf  (582),  1785;  Barton  (43)  first  in  a  brief  note 
bringing  it  before  the  medical  profession,  1798.  He 
credits  the  Cherokee  Indians  for  its  uses,  and  in  the 
third  part  of  his  work,  1804,  he  devotes 'considerable 
attention  to  the  drug.  Rafinesque  (535),  1828,  states 
that  the  Indians  employed  hydrastis  as  a  stimulant, 
and  that  the  Cherokees  used  it  for  cancer,  but  that  for 
this  purpose  better  remedies  were  known  to  them.  The 
principal  use  of  hydrastis  by  the  Indians,  however,  and 
the  use  which  afterwards  crept  into  domestic  practice, 
was  as  an  infusion  or  wash  for  skin  diseases  and  for  sore 
or  inflamed  eyes.  It  was  also  employed  as  a  stimulant 
for  indolent  ulcers,  and  as  an  internal  tonic.  Hydrastis 
may  be  considered  typical  of  the  drugs  that  are  em- 
ployed very  extensively  by  the  medical  profession, 
through  their  empirical  introduction,  it  being  recorded 
that  even  for  gonorrhea  the  Indians  discovered  its 
utility. 

Early  authorities  on  American  medicinal  plants,  such 
as  Barton  (43),  1798  and  1804,  Hand  (298),  House  Sur- 
geon, 1820,  Rafinesque  (535),  Elisha  Smith  (601),  1830, 
Kost  (361),  1851,  Sanborn  (571),  1835,  give  to  hy- 
drastis considerable  conspicuity,  whilst  Dunglison's 
Medical  Dictionary  (203),  1852,  erroneously  states  that 
in  Kentucky,  only,  it  is  used,  and  then  only  as  an  out- 
ward application  for  wounds.  (See  Drugs  and  Medicines 
of  North  America  (389),  pp.  154-5.  This  gives  the  most 
complete  study  of  hydrastis  and  its  alkaloids  extant). 

The  voluminous  chemistry  of  the  hydrastis  alkaloids 
lies  in  the  province  of  Dr.  Waldbott  and  Prof.  Heyroth. 


1(56  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Briefly,  "The  Relationship  of  Hydrastine  and  Berberine 
to  One  Another,  and  Their  Mode  of  Combination  in  the 
Drug,"  is  discussed  by  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  Proc. 
Amer.  Pharm.  Assn.,  1894,  pp.  188-190.  The  subject 
concerns  pure  chemistry  and  can  not  be  properly 
treated  in  this  history  of  drugs,  but  reference  thereto 
should  not  be  neglected.  To  this  it  may  be  added  that 
in  1899  Dr.  Dohme  continued  the  subject  (Proc.  Amer. 
Pharm.  Ass'n.,  1899,  pp.  280-283)  from  a  purely  assay- 
ing phase,  the  conclusions  being  that  "spring-dug 
Golden  Seal  is  fully  equal  to  fall-dug,  in  content  of  the 
white  alkaloid."  Research  Laboratory  of  Sharp  & 
Dohme. 

HYOSCYAMUS  (Henbane) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  The  Philadelphia 
edition  of  1830  recognizes  the  leaves  only.  .  All  others  name  "the 
plant,"  or  the  leaves  and  seeds. 

Hyoscyamus  niger  is  distributed  throughout  Europe, 
from  Portugal  and  Greece  to  Norway  and  Finland.  It 
is  found  in  the  Caucasus,  Persia,  throughout  Asia 
Minor,  Northern  India,  and  even  in  Siberia.  It  has 
been  naturalized  in  North  America  and  Brazil,  and  in 
England  it  is  a  common  weed.  Dioscorides  (194)  men- 
tions it  among  medicinal  plants,  and  under  the  name 
Henbane  it  has  been  employed  in  European  domestic 
medication  from  the  remotest  times.  Anglo-Saxon 
works  on  medicine  in  the  llth  century  give  it  a  place. 
During  the  Middle  Ages  the  seeds  and  roots  were  much 
used.  Its  employment  and  reintroduction  to  modern 
regular  medicine,  after  it  had  fallen  into  disuse,  came 
through  the  efforts  of  Storck  (617).  Its  qualities  were 
well  known  to  the  Arabians,  as  is  witnessed  in  numerous 


HYOSCYAMUS  167 

references  thereto  in  the  "Arabian  Nights,"  (88),  of 
which  the  following  is  a  sample: 

"Presently  he  filled  a  cresset  with  firewood,  on  which 
he  strewed  powdered  Henbane,  and  lighting  it,  went 
round  about  the  tent  with  it  till  the  smoke  entered  the 
nostrils  of  the  guards,  and  they  all  fell  asleep,  drowned 
by  the  drug."  History  of  Gharib  and  his  Brother  Ajib, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  7. 

In  the  reproduction  following,  had  Herodotus  not 
said  tree,  it  might  be  accepted  that  the  volatile  intoxi- 
cant mentioned  by  him,  referred  to  this  drug.  The 
presumption  need  not  have  disturbed  an  author  who 
made  errors  more  pronounced  than  the  distinction 
between  an  herb  and  a  tree,  and  who  wisely  qualified 
his  statement  by  "it  is  said."  Indeed,  as  shown  in  our 
article  on  Matico,  that  plant  was  originally  described 
as  "Soldier's  Herb  or  Tree." 

"Moreover,  it  is  said  that  other  trees  have  been  dis- 
covered by  them  which  yield  fruit  of  such  a  kind  that 
when  they  have  assembled  together  in  companies  in  the 
same  place  and  lighted  a  fire,  they  sit  round  in  a  circle 
and  throw  some  of  it  into  the  fire,  and  they  smell  the 
fruit  which  is  thrown  on,  as  it  burns,  and  are  intoxi- 
cated by  the  scent  as  the  Hellenes  are  with  wine,  and 
when  more  of  the  fruit  is  thrown  on  they  become  more 
intoxicated,  until  at  last  they  rise  up  to  dance  and  begin 
to  sing."  Herodotus  (Macaulay),  Book  I,  p.  99. i 

In  like  manner,  probably  through  tradition,  its  uses 
came  to  the  people.  The  grandmother  of  this  writer, 
afflicted  with  asthma,  found  her  greatest  relief  in 
smoking  stramonium  leaves,  mixed  with  small  amounts 
of  hyoscyamus  "henbane"  leaves.  This  was  probably 


168  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

an  heirloom  of  primitive  European  medication,  trans- 
planted to  the  settlers  of  the  American  wilderness,  who 
added  the  stramonium  to  hyoscyamus. 

IPECACUANHA  (Ipecac) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
The  U.  S.  P.  1910  makes  official  the  root  of  Cephaelis  Ipecac- 
uanha (Rio  Ipecac  of  commerce)  or  of  Cephaelis  acuminata 
(Cartagena  Ipecac). 

The  plant  which  produces  this  drug,  Cephaelis  Ipeca- 
cuanha, Richard,  belongs  to  the  large  natural  order  of 
Rubiaceae,  which  includes  a  large  number  of  our  medic- 
inal plants,  for  example  cinchona,  spigelia  and  mitch- 
ella.  Different  authors  have  successively  assigned 
the  plant  to  different  genera,  (Index  Kewensis,  1894), 
as  follows: — Uragoga,  Linnaeus,  1731,  Psychotria,  Lin- 
naeus, 1759,  Cephaelis,  Swartz,  1788,  and  Callicocca, 
Schreber,  1789.  The  following  synonyms  now  exist: 

1.  Uragoga  Ipecacuanha,  established  by  Baillon  in 
1879,  (Baillon,  Nat.  Hist.  Plants,  Vol.  VII,  p.  280, 
London,    1881),   evidently   by   right   of   the   priority 
claimed  for  the  generic  name,  Uragoga. 

2.  Psychotria  Ipecacuanha.     This  is  the  name  now 
recognized  by  the  Index  Kewensis,  in  which  Stokes, 
Bot.  Mat.Medica,  (1812),  is  credited  as  introducing  the 
name  of  the  species.     The  name  was  again  author- 
itatively  proposed    in    1881    by   Miiller   Argoviensis 
(Martius,  Flora  Brasiliensis,  fasc.  84,  1881). 

3.  Callicocca  Ipecacuanha,  Brotero,  1802. 

4.  Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha,  Willdenow,  1804. 

5.  Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha,  De  Candolle,  1804. 

6.  Cephaelis  emetica,  Persoon,  1807. 

7.  Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha,  Tussac,  1813. 

8.  Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha,  A.  Richard,  1820. 


IPECACUANHA  169 

The  beginning  of  the  history  of  ipecacuanha  root  and 
the  first  study  of  its  virtues  is  clouded  in  mystery  and 
fable.  It  is  stated  that  the  South  American  Indians 
were  acquainted  with  the  medicinal  properties  of  the 
plant,  having  gained  their  experience  from  observing 
the  habits  of  animals  (409).  This  fable  has  a  parallel 
in  the  quaint  description  given  by  Clusius  (153)  con- 
cerning the  discovery  of  the  healing  virtues  of  nux 
vomica  bark  in  cases  of  snake  bite.  A  vague,  yet  prob- 
ably the  first  source  of  information  on  the  subject  of 
ipecacuanha  root,  is  found  in  a  work  named  "The  Pil- 
grimes,"  by  Samuel  Purchas  (527),  published  in  London 
in  1625,  which  in  five  volumes  gives  an  account  of  many 
travels,  the  natural  history  and  products  of  foreign 
countries.  In  Vol.  IV,  page  1311,  where  Brazilian 
plants  and  their  uses  are  considered,  the  following 
occurs: 

"Ipecaya  or  pigaya  is  profitable  for  the  bloudie  fluxe. 
The  stalke  is  a  quarter  long  and  the  roots  of  another  or 
more,  it  hath  only  four  or  five  leaves,  it  smelleth  much 
wheresoever  it  is,  but  the  smell  is  strong  and  terrible." 

The  subsequent  description  of  its  medicinal  virtues 
bears  further  evidence  that  the  plant  mentioned  is  at 
least  closely  related  to  official  ipecacuanha.  According 
to  a  printed  note  at  the  head  of  that  chapter,  the  author 
is  believed  to  be  a  Jesuit  by  the  name  of  Manoel  Tris- 
taon  (651a),  who  probably  wrote  the  treatise  in  the 
year  1601. 

The  first  definite  information  we  have  of  ipecacuanha 
dates  from  the  publication  by  Piso  and  Marcgraf  (511), 
of  a  work  called  "Historia  Naturalis  Brasilia,"  Am- 
sterdam, 1648,  chapter  Ixiv  being  entitled,  "De  Ipe- 
cacuanha ejusque  Facultatibus."  Two  species  of  ipecac 


170  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

are  described,  a  white  and  a  brown  species,  the  latter 
evidently  being  the  true  ipecacuanha  plant.  An  illus- 
tration is  added,  which  Me*rat  considers  quite  a  credit- 
able reproduction  of  the  true  ipecacuanha.  The  entire 
chapter  was  reprinted,  with  French  translation,  by 
Merat  (422),  and  inserted  in  his  "Dictionnaire,"  as  a 
testimony  of  the  extreme  exactness  of  the  description 
given  by  Piso  (511). 

Ipecac  root  first  came  to  Europe  in  1672  through  the 
agency  of  Le  Gras  (422),  who  sought  to  introduce  it 
into  medical  practice.  Keeping  a  stock  supply  in  the 
care  of  an  apothecary  by  the  name  of  Claquenelle  in 
Paris,  he  associated  himself  with  J.  A.  Helvetius  (309), 
a  physician  of  German  descent,  who  had  graduated 
under  the  medical  Faculty  at  Rheims.  However,  the 
venture  was  at  first  a  failure,  owing  to  the  employment 
of  too  large  doses. 

In  1680  a  merchant  by  the  name  of  Gamier  in  Paris, 
well  acquainted  with  the  medicinal  virtues  of  the  root, 
sent  for  a  supply,  obtaining  150  pounds  from  Spain. 
Through  this  gentleman,  directly  or  indirectly,  Hel- 
vetius (309)  secured  a  new  lot  of  the  drug,  which  he 
skillfully  managed  to  exploit  by  extensively  advertising 
it  as  "radix  anti-dysenterica,"  the  origin  of  which,  how- 
ever, he  kept  a  secret.  Finally  the  fame  of  the  remedy 
came  to  the  notice  of  Minister  Colbert,  who  ordered 
that  it  be  given  an  official  trial  in  the  Paris  municipal 
hospital. 

In  1688  Helvetius  (309)  obtained  the  sole  license  for 
the  sale  of  the  drug,  which  proved  to  be  an  efficient,  or 
at  least  popular,  remedy  among  the  members  of  an 
aristocratic  patronage,  including  no  less  a  personage 
than  the  dauphin.  Through  the  combined  influences 


IPECACUANHA  171 

of  his  physician,  Ant.  d'Aquin,  and  of  Prang,  de  La- 
chaise,  confessor  to  the  king,  Louis  XIV  then  bought 
the  secret  from  Helvetius  for  one  thousand  louis  d'or, 
and  made  it  public  property.  Gamier,  the  merchant, 
next  brought  suit  in  order  to  obtain  his  share  of  profit 
in  the  transaction,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  his  effort. 

The  remedy  having  been  thus  legally  established  in 
France,  it  was  introduced  into  other  countries,  e.  g.,  by 
Leibnitz  (378a),  1696,  and  Velentini  (656b),  1698,  into 
Germany,  and  into  Holland  in  1694  by  Fried.  Dekker. 

During  the  first  part  of  the  18th  century,  ipecacuanha 
was  in  frequent  use  in  the  various  pharmacies  of  Ger- 
many, as  is  evidenced  from  its  being  mentioned  in 
several  old  documents  of  that  period.  It  is,  for  example, 
mentioned  in  the  authoritative  drug  list  of  the  Silesian 
town  of  Strehlen,  in  1724. 

However,  during  the  increasing  employment  of  the 
drug  in  the  latter  part  of  the  18th  century,  much  con- 
fusion arose  as  to  its  botanical  origin,  insomuch  that  it 
became  the  habit  to  designate  as  ipecacuanha  any 
emetic  plant,  regardless  of  its  botanical  source.  A  long 
list  of  such  plants  is  enumerated,  for  example,  in 
Martius  (409).  In  this  manner  the  characteristics  of 
the  plant  furnishing  true  ipecacuanha  root  became 
almost  forgotten,  other  plants  being  substituted  for  it. 
Ray,  for  example,  held  it  to  be  a  species  of  Paris,  and 
no  less  an  authority  than  Linnaeus  himself  thought 
Viola  Ipecacuanha,  now  known  as  lonidum  Ipecacuanha 
(684),  to  be  the  true  ipecacuanha  root. 

In  1764,  Mutis,  a  celebrated  botanist  in  Santa  Fe  de 
Bogota,  sent  the  younger  Linnaeus  a  Peruvian  emetic 
plant  with  description,  which  he  thought  to  be  the  true 
ipecacuanha  root.  Linnaeus  fil.  (385)  accepted  the 


172  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

statement  of  Mutis  as  correct,  and,  moreover,  believing 
the  illustration  given  by  Piso  (511)  of  the  true  ipe- 
cacuanha plant  to  represent  the  specimen  he  received 
from  Mutis,  in  1781  gave  to  it  the  name  Psychotria 
emetica,  Mutis. 

To  Dr.  Gomez  (271,  272),  who  in  1800  returned  from 
Brazil,  is  finally  due  the  credit  of  having  corrected  this 
error.  He  re-established  the  nearly  forgotten  botanical 
character  of  true  ipecacuanha  in  his  memoir  published 
at  Lisbon  in  1801,  wherein  he  describes  and  figures  the 
plant,  and  especially  distinguishes  it  from  Psychotria 
emetica,  Mutis. 

Having  donated  some  specimens  of  the  plant  in  his 
possession  to  his  fellow  countryman,  F.  A.  Brotero 
(100),  professor  of  botany,  Coimbra,  the  latter  pub- 
lished an  account  of  it,  1802,  in  the  Trans.  Linn.  Soc., 
naming  it  Callicocca  Ipecacuanha  (100),  but  gave  no 
credit  to  the  source  of  his  information,  which  consider- 
ably chagrined  Gomez  (422).  Twelve  years  later, 
Brotero  left  a  copy  of  his  article  with  a  botanist  by  the 
name  of  Hectot,  of  Nantes,  who  communicated  it  to 
M.  Tussac  (656a),  and  the  latter,  in  publishing  it,  gave 
to  the  drug  described  the  name  Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha, 
also  laying  stress  upon  its  distinction  from  Psychotria 
emetica,  Mutis,  perhaps  without  having  any  knowledge 
of  Gomez'  paper  published  in  1801. 

In  1820,  A.  Richard  (550)  again  called  attention  to 
this  distinction,  but  also  without  giving  proper  credit 
to  Gomez,  with  the  result  that  later  authorities  fre- 
quently quote  the  true  ipecacuanha  root  under  the 
name,  Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha,  A.  Richard. 

As  is  true  of  other  new  drugs,  ipecacuanha  in  its 
early  days  suffered  much  from  adulteration.  One  of 


IPECACUANHA  173 

the  adulterants  was  the  root  of  an  Apocynum,  as  de- 
scribed in  Lewis'  (382)  Materia  Medica,  as  follows: 

"A  root  has  been  brought  over  under  the  name  of 
white  ipecacoanha,  which  has  little  or  nothing  of  the 
virtues  of  the  two  foregoing :  this  is  readily  distinguished 
by  its  yellowish  white  colour,  woody  texture,  and  having 
no  fissures  or  wrinkles.  More  dangerous  abuses  have 
sometimes  been  committed,  by  the  substitution  or  mix- 
ture of  the  roots  of  an  American  Apocynum,  which  have 
been  found  to  operate  with  great  violence  both  upwards 
and  downwards,  and  in  some  instances,  as  is  said,  to 
prove  fatal;  these  may  be  known  by  their  being  larger 
than  the  true  ipecacoanha,  the  fissures  more  distant, 
the  intermediate  spaces  smoother,  and  more  particu- 
larly by  the  colour  of  the  medullary  fibre,  which  in  the 
poisonous  roots  is  a  deep  reddish  yellow,  in  the  true 
ipecacoanha  a  whitish  or  pale  greyish." 

CULTIVATION  AND  COLLECTION  OF  IPECAC. — The 
peculiar  structure  of  the  flower  requires  the  intervention 
of  insects  for  the  purpose  of  fertilization;  when  culti- 
vated in  hot  houses,  it  is  necessary  to  transfer  mechan- 
ically some  pollen  to  the  stigma,  if  the  plant  is  expected 
to  bear  fruit. 

In  1849,  Weddell  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  a 
fragment  of  the  plant  be  allowed  to  lie  on  the  ground  for 
any  length  of  time,  it  will  strike  root.  The  corners  of 
the  leaf  stalks  are  especially  prone  to  issue  such  adven- 
titious roots,  and  the  stem  will  also  bud  when  in  contact 
with  the  ground.  This  property  of  the  ipecac  plant  was 
rediscovered  in  1870  by  McNab.  Probably  this  re- 
productive power  accounts  for  the  plant  resisting  ex- 
termination, despite  the  rapacious  method  employed 
in  collecting  it. 


174  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

The  root  is  dug  all  the  year  round,  but  especially  in 
the  months  of  January  and  February,  when  the  plant 
is  in  bloom.  It  is  perhaps  to  be  regretted  that  the  col- 
lection is  not  postponed  until  May,  when  the  fruit 
ripens,  for  then  the  scattered  seeds  would  insure  a  new 
growth.  It  is  said  that,  owing  to  the  vicious  system  of 
collection,  the  plant  has  become  scarce  in  the  vicinity 
of  large  cities,  as  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Professor  Rusby 
states  that  the  scarcity  in  trade  during  a  recent  period 
is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  the  attention  of  the  natives 
has  shifted  towards  the  rubber  industry.  (Pharm. 
Jour.,  1889,  p.  1056). 

The  most  abundant  growth  of  the  drug,  on  the  au- 
thority of  Weddell,  is  to  be  found  in  the  interior  of  the 
Brazilian  province  of  Matto  Grosso.  The  "poayeros," 
as  the  collectors  of  the  plant  are  called,  skillfully  cut  off 
the  root,  taking  care  to  leave  part  of  it  in  the  ground, 
afterwards  they  carefully  fill  the  hole  again  with  earth. 
By  taking  this  precaution,  it  is  said  that  after  three  or 
four  years  a  new  crop  may  be  gathered  at  the  same 
spot.  A  skilled  poayero  collects  thirty  pounds  a  day, 
but  the  average  is  not  more  than  six  to  ten  pounds  a 
day. 

Since  1866  attempts  have  been  made  by  the  British 
to  transfer  the  cultivation  of  ipecacuanha  to  India,  but 
these  seem  not  to  have  been  successful.  From  one 
specimen  sent  to  India  by  Hooker  in  1866,  an  increase 
of  but  11  plants  resulted  to  the  date  of  1872.  Upon 
McNab's  discovery  of  the  propagation  by  root,  300 
specimens  obtained  in  this  manner  were  sent  to 
India  and  planted  in  dark  woods  of  the  hot  and  moist 
valleys  of  British  Sikkim  in  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 
Although  they  multiplied  in  one  season  to  an  aggregate 


IPECACUANHA  175 

of  6,000  specimens,  the  cultivation  seems  from  some 
cause  to  have  been  impractical.  Arthur  Meyer  con- 
cludes from  a  study  of  the  anatomy  of  the  leaf,  that  the 
plant,  while  preferring  dark  locations,  requires  at  least 
a  certain  amount  of  light,  and  suggests  that  cultivation 
may  succeed  better  in  moist  woodlands  in  the  direct 
shade  of  single  trees. 

In  1894,  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme  presented  to  the  Amer- 
ican Pharmaceutical  Association  (Proceedings)  a  val- 
uable contribution  to  the  chemistry  of  ipecac,  under 
the  title  "The  Relative  Alkaloidal  Value  of  Two  Kinds 
of  Ipecac  Root."  He  established,  by  processes  given 
in  detail,  that,  contrary  to  the  general  opinion,  "the 
upper  part  of  the  root,  which  frequently  is  in  part  a 
stem,  contains  more  alkaloid  than  the  lower  or  annu- 
lated  part."  (Research  Laboratory  of  Sharp  &  Dohme.) 
From  the  interesting  discussion  we  reproduce  as  fol- 
lows: 

"MR.  CASPARI:  This  paper  simply  goes  to  show, 
Mr.  Chairman,  that  it  is  not  always  best  to  buy  that 
which  commands  a  fancy  price  in  the  market.  Here 
we  have  evidence  of  a  root  commanding  in  the  market 
a  high  price  being  of  less  value  than  a  commercially  in- 
ferior grade,  and  the  determination  of  the  value  must 
depend  upon  their  alkaloidal  percentage. 

"DR.  DOHME:  I  would  say  in  regard  to  the  ipecac 
root  that  comes  into  the  market  in  various  forms  under 
different  commercial  names  that  the  true  or  'fancy' 
root  is  made  up  of  the  part  that  is  found  below  the 
ground,  while  the  so-called  'wiry'  root  is  both  stem  and 
root,  and  is  made  up  of  the  part  at  the  surface  and 
above  the  ground;  the  'wiry'  root  is  the  cheaper,  the 
'fancy'  root  being  sometimes  twice  as  high.  Then  there 


176  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

are  intermediate  grades,  depending  upon  the  relative 
amount  of  the  two  kinds  present.  As  my  results  show, 
this  value  is  based  upon  a  false  assumption,  for  the 
'wiry'  root  ought  to  be  the  most  expensive,  and  the 
'fancy'  root  ought  to  he  the  cheapest." 

JALAPA  (Jalap) 

Official  in  every  edition,  from  1820  to  1910. 

The  purgative  tuber  known  under  the  common  name 
jalap,  Exogonium  Purga,  is  a  gift  of  Mexico.  The  early 
Spanish  voyagers  learned  of  its  cathartic  qualities  from 
the  natives,  and  in  the  16th  century  carried  large  quan- 
tities to  Europe,  where  it  naturally  became  a  favorite, 
in  the  days  of  heroic  medication.  Monardes  (447),  in 
1565,  mentions  a  cathartic  under  the  name  Mechoacan 
rhubarb,  or  root,  which  some  believe  to  have  been  jalap, 
but  Fliickiger  (239)  discredits  this,  because  Colon,  an 
apothecary  of  Lyons,  in  1619,  states  that  jalap  was 
then  newly  brought  to  France.  Fliickiger  also  accepts 
that  both  drugs  were  well  known  in  1610,  although  often 
confused.  Owing  to  this  confusion  between  the  bulbs, 
one  was  called  Black  Mechoacan,  while  the  other  was 
known  as  White  Jalap.  Strangely  enough,  the  exact 
botanical  source  of  jalap  remained  a  question  until  1829, 
when  Dr.  Coxe,  (171),  of  Philadelphia,  author  of 
Coxe's  American  Dispensatory,  identified  the  drug  from 
living  plants  sent  to  him  from  Mexico,  and  published 
descriptions,  with  colored  plates,  in  the  American  Jour- 
nal of  Medical  Sciences,  (17a),  1829.  This  celebrated 
cathartic,  so  much  used  by  both  licensed  physicians 
and  in  domestic  medication,  is  to  be  credited  to  the 
natives  of  Mexico,  whose  employment  of  the  drug 
introduced  it  to  European  commercial  adventurers, 


KINO  177 

who  as  a  matter  of  business  made  it  known  to  the 
professions  of  medicine  and  pharmacy. 

KINO 

Official  in  U.  S.  P.,  all  editions,  from  1820  to  and  including 
1910. 

Kino  is  the  dried  juice  of  a  handsome  timber  tree, 
Pterocarpus  Marsupium,  a  native  of  the  southern  parts 
of  the  Indian  Peninsula  and  Ceylon.  It  is  also  obtained 
from  several  other  trees  that  partake  of  the  qualities  of 
an  astringent  drug.  One  of  these,  Pterocarpus  indicus, 
is  a  tree  of  Southern  India,  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and 
the  Philippine  Islands.  The  drug,  used  by  natives 
from  time  immemorial,  was  introduced  into  commerce 
by  Fothergill  (244),  1757.  It  came  from  the  River 
Gambia,  in  Western  Africa,  where  it  had  been  pre- 
viously noticed  by  Moore  (449),  who  in  his  "Travels 
Into  the  Inland  Parts  of  Africa,"  1737,  mentioned  the 
product  under  the  name  Kano.  Mungo  Park,  1805, 
sent  specimens  of  the  tree  to  England,  and  from  that 
date  African  kino  has  been  a  regular  product  of  the 
English  drug  market.  According  to  Duncan  (202),  in 
the  Edinburgh  Dispensatory,  1803,  kino  as  found  in 
England  was  an  African  product,  but  he  recognized  a 
variety,  indistinguishable  from  this,  coming  from  Ja- 
maica. In  the  1811  edition  of  the  same  work  he  asserts 
that  the  African  drug  is  out  of  market,  and  that  the 
East  India  Company  now  supplies  the  market  from  Ja- 
maica and  New  South  Wales.  It  is  evident  that,  as 
with  Krameria,  many  species  and  varieties  of  the  tree, 
native  to  widely  different  sections  of  the  world,  produce 
the  substance  known  as  kino,  which,  aside  from  the 
East  India  tree,  Pterocarpus  Marsupium,  are  accepted 


178  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

as  being  very  nearly  identical  with  the  material  yielded 
by  the  kino  tree  of  tropical  Africa.  Kino  is  obtained  by 
incising  the  tree  and  removing  the  red  jelly  as  it  exudes, 
then  drying  it  by  exposure  to  the  air.  It  is  mildly 
astringent,  and  has  been  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
wine. 

KRAMERIA  (Krameria,  Khatany) 

Official  from  1830,  both  editions,  to  1900.  Not  mentioned 
in  1820,  (nor  in  2d  edition,  1828),  nor  in  1910. 

The  shrub,  Krameria  triandra,  is  native  to  the  bare 
and  sandy  slopes  of  the  Bolivian  and  Peruvian  Cor- 
dilleras, where  it  grows  at  from  3,000  to  8,000  feet  above 
sea  level.  It  is  often  found  in  great  abundance,  stand- 
ing in  solid  beds  scarcely  a  foot  high,  and  peculiarly 
attractive  by  reason  of  its  silver-gray  foliage  and  star- 
like  flowers.  The  root  of  commerce  comes  from  the 
north  and  east  of  Lima,  and  the  northern  part  of  Peru. 
The  Spanish  botanist  Hipolito  Ruiz  (562,  563),  in  1784, 
observed  the  native  women  of  Huanuco  and  Lima  using 
this  drug  as  a  tooth  preservative  and  an  astringent. 

On  his  return  to  Europe,  in  1806,  he  introduced  the 
root  into  Spain,  and  from  that  country  it  gradually 
spread  throughout  Europe.  The  first  that  reached 
England,  however,  was  part  of  the  cargo  of  a  Spanish 
prize.  Specimens  of  this  came  into  the  hands  of  Dr. 
Reece  (540),  who  recommended  it  to  the  profession, 
1806,  in  his  Medicinal  and  Chirurgical  Review,  London. 
There  are  other  species  and  kinds  of  rhatany,  one,  in- 
vestigated by  the  writer  of  this  article  some  years  ago, 
as  found  in  Florida,  the  qualities  of  which  could  scarcely 
be  distinguished  from  those  of  the  astringent  South 
American  drug.  This  Florida  drug  was  also  noticed  by 
Dr.  E.  M.  Hale,  of  Chicago,  a  well-known  Homeopathic 


LAPPA  179 

author.  Krameria  Ixina  was  also  official  in  past 
Pharmacopeias.  Seemingly,  the  species  of  rhatany 
are  all  of  similar  nature,  all  being  dependent  for 
their  virtue  upon  a  kindly,  astringent,  red  tannate. 

LACTUCARIUM  (Lactucarium) 

Official  from  1820  to  1910.  In  1830,  (Philadelphia  edition) 
it  was  relegated  to  the  Secondary  List,  but  regained  position  in 
1840. 

Several  species  of  Lactuca  known  to  the  Old  World 
yield  the  juice  which,  when  dried,  is  known  as  Lactu- 
carium, an  extract  known  also  under  the  name  lettuce 
opium.  The  fact  that  lettuce  eaten  frequently  induces 
drowsiness  was  known  in  ancient  times,  and  its  reputa- 
tion in  this  direction  led  Dr.  Coxe  (171),  of  Philadelphia, 
to  suggest  the  collecting  of  the  juice,  after  the  manner 
employed  in  the  making  of  opium.  His  experiments 
were  published  in  1799  under  the  title  " Lettuce  Opium." 
Since  then,  others  writing  on  the  subject  created  a  de- 
mand for  lactucarium  thus  produced.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  introduction  of  this  substance  to  medicine 
came  through  usual  empirical  channels.  In  this  con- 
nection, a  French  proprietary  syrup  had  large  use 
(Mayo). 

LAPPA    (Burdock) 

Introduced  in  1850,  but  in  Secondary  List,  occupying  this 
position  in  1860  and  1870.  Official  in  1880,  1890  and  1900. 
Dropped  from  1910  edition. 

This  widely  distributed  plant,  known  under  several 
botanical  names,  such  as  Lappa  minor  (De  Candolle), 
Lappa  major  (Gartner),  and  Lappa  tomentosa  (La- 
marck), is  now  official  as  Arctium  Lappa.  The  com- 
mercial name,  Burdock,  seems,  however,  so  expressive 


180  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

as  to  have  become  its  universal  appellation,  needing 
no  interpretation. 

The  root  of  this  plant  has  ever  been  used  in  its  native 
haunts,  which  cover  much  of  Africa,  Europe  and  adja- 
cent lands.  Like  the  honey  bee,  it  follows  civilization; 
and  like  the  English  sparrow,  it  craves  the  company  of 
man.  Its  burr  goes  with  man  into  all  inhabited  coun- 
tries, and  whether  or  not  it  be  a  welcome  guest,  its 
broad  leaves  are  to  be  found  about  every  dwelling.  If 
the  plant  were  rare,  florists  would  probably  consider  it 
very  attractive.  Burdock  has  been  used  from  time  out 
of  date  in  domestic  medicint.  Several  varieties  have 
inherited  the  common  name,  such  works  as  Salmon, 
(570a),  1683;  Samuel  Dale,  (179),  1737;Quincy,  (532), 
1749;  Lewis,  (382),  1768,  and  Motherby,  (451b),  1775, 
testifying  thereto.  In  all  these  it  is  titled  Bardana. 

LEPTANDRA  (Leptandra,  Culver's  Root) 

Introduced  in  1860.  Official  in  all  editions  following,  including 
1900,  but  dropped  from  1910. 

Leptandra,  Veronica  virginica,  grows  hi  rich  wood- 
lands throughout  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  being  found  in  abundance  wherever  it  is 
native  to  a  section  and  the  woodlands  have  remained 
undisturbed.  The  various  species  are  known  under 
many  local  names,  such  as  black  root,  Culver's  root, 
Brinton  root,  Bowman  root,  physic  root,  etc.,  as  used 
by  the  settlers,  who  derived  their  knowledge  of  the  drug 
from  the  Indians,  and  designated  the  plant  from  its 
characteristics,  or  from  the  name  of  the  man  who  used 
it  hi  his  practice.  The  Delaware  Indians  called  the  plant 
Quitel,  and  the  Missouri  and  Osage  tribes  knew  it  as 
Hini.  Leptandra  was  employed  in  decoction  by  settlers 


LIMONIS,  CORTEX  ET  SUCCUS  181 

and  savages  alike,  as  a  violent  purgative,  and  in  the 
practice  of  early  physicians  of  the  United  States  it  was 
used  for  bilious  fevers.  Peter  Smith  (605),  author  of 
the  "Indian  Doctor's  Dispensatory,"  1813,  states  that 
his  father  used  "Culver's  Root"  to  cure  the  pleurisy, 
which  it  did  "with  amazing  speed."  The  use  of  lep- 
tandra  was  confined  to  domestic  medication  until  the 
appearance  of  the  American  Dispensatory,  (356),  1852, 
which  gave  it  a  general  introduction  to  the  profession 
of  medicine.  Professor  W.  Byrd  Powell,  a  Cincinnati 
physician  of  exceptional  education,  valued  leptandra 
very  highly,  and  it  was  upon  his  strong  commendation 
to  Professor  John  King  (356),  editor  of  the  American 
Dispensatory,  that  it  was  given  a  position  in  that 
publication.  The  name  Leptandra  is  based  on  its  for- 
merly recognized  botanical  name  of  Leptandra  virginica. 

LIMONIS,  CORTEX  ET  SUCCUS 

(Lemon,  Peel  and  Juice) 

Official,  from  1820,  through  all  editions.  In  1840  we  find  the 
distinction  first  made  between  Lemon  Peel  and  Lemon  Juice. 
Lemon  Peel,  alone,  is  official  in  1910. 

The  lemon  tree,  Citrus  Limonum,  is  a  native  of  the 
forests  of  Northern  India,  and  occurs  elsewhere  through 
the  adjacent  countries.  It  has  been  known  from  the 
beginning  of  written  history  in  its  native  land,  but  its 
mention  in  Sanskrit  literature  occurs  in  more  modem 
times,  rather  than  in  antiquity.  The  Arabian  writers 
gave  it  the  name  limun,  from  the  Hindu  word  limbu,  or 
limn.  (See  extract  from  article  of  Dr.  Rice,  following). 
The  lemon  was  unknown  to  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  but  it  was  mentioned  in  the  3d  and 
4th  centuries  A.  D.,  in  the  Book  of  Nabathcean  Agri- 


182  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

culture.  The  use  of  the  lemon  as  a  grateful  acid  in 
drinks  and  cordials,  as  well  as  the  peel  of  the  fruit  as  a 
flavoring  material  in  medicine,  seems  to  have  been 
known  to  primitive  humanity.  The  introduction  of  the 
lemon  parallels  somewhat  the  record  of  the  orange. 
Possibly  the  most  authoritative  dissertation  on  the 
lemon,  which  embodies  the  history  of  the  citrus  family 
generally,  is  that  by  Dr.  Charles  Rice,  (548a),  published 
in  New  Remedies,  (467a),  August,  September  and  Oc- 
tober, 1878.  With  his  characteristic  thoroughness, 
Dr.  Rice  gives  in  the  body  of  his  work  and  in  numerous 
footnotes  a  world  of  information  concerning  the  deriva- 
tion of  the  name  of  each  member  of  the  citrus  family 
used  in  commerce,  together  with  the  record  of  its 
products.  From  this  we  quote,  as  follows: 

"Lemon  is  from  the  Arabic  limun  and  this,  by  way  of 
the  Persian,  is  related  to  the  Hindu  limu,  limbu,  or 
nimbu.  Adam  already  in  his  Hindi-Kosha,  (Calcutta, 
1829),  translates  the  Sanskrit  nimbu  into  Hindi  limu. 
This  translation  is  no  doubt  correct,  but  the  Sanskrit 
has  evidently  coined  or  adopted  the  word  from  the 
North  'Indian  vernaculars.  In  Cashmeer  it  is  still 
called  nimbu.  There  are  many  names  in  Sanskrit  for 
the  Citrus-fruits,  a  number  of  them  standing  for  lemon. 
The  Madanavinoda  (see  New  Remedies,  Aug.  1878, 
p.  231),  (467a),  mentions  two  kinds  of  nimbu  (or  nim- 
buka),  one  of  which  is  sour,  and  the  other  sweet. 
Another  native  term  is  nisbu,  according  to  the  Sab- 
dakalpadruma.  The  Medievo-Greek  is  leimonion 
lemone.  The  lemon  is  first  mentioned  in  the  book  on 
Nabathsean  Agriculture,  under  the  name  hasia  (see 
Meyer,  Gesch.  d.  Bot.  Ill,  (68)."— Dr.  Charles  Rice,  New 
Remedies,  Sept.,  1878. 


LOBELIA  183 

LINUM 

Official,  in  all  editions,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Flaxseed,  or  linseed,  Linum  usitatissimum,  has  been 
cultivated  from  all  times  in  the  Old  World.  From  nat- 
ural scattering  of  its  seeds  it  may  become  a  weed,  and  is 
thus  found  wild  in  more  or  less  favored  locations 
throughout  the  temperate  and  tropical  regions  of  the 
globe.  Flax  as  a  fibrous  plant  has  been  utilized  through- 
out the  journey  of  human  civilization.  The  Egyptian 
tombs  carry  paintings  illustrating  the  weaving  of  flax 
into  cloth;  the  grave  clothes  of  the  early  Egyptians 
were  made  of  flax,  whose  record  has  been  traced  back 
to  at  least  2300  B.  C.  The  seeds  of  the  plant  have 
ever  been  employed,  both  as  a  food  and  as  a  medicine. 
All  the  early  historians,  such  as  the  Greek  Alcman  of  the 
7th  century  B.  C.,  Thucydides  and  Pliny  (514),  refer  to 
its  qualities  as  a  food,  reciting  that  the  seeds  were  used 
by  the  people,  both  externally  and  internally,  as  medi- 
cines. Charlemagne  promoted  the  growth  of  flax  in 
Northern  Europe.  The  plant  reached  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way from  its  native  land,  before  the  12th  century. 

LOBELIA  (Lobelia,  Indian  Tobacco) 
Official,  all  editions,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Lobelia,  or  Indian  tobacco,  Lobelia  inflate,  was 
introduced  by  Samuel  Thomson  (638)  in  the  beginning 
of  the  19th  century.  It  has  been,  in  domestic  medica- 
tion, in  the  practice  of  the  Thomsonians  and  also  of  the 
Eclectics,  one  of  the  most  valued  remedial  agents  of  the 
American  flora  (388b).  Following  its  empirical  use, 
the  first  printed  record  concerning  its  emetic  properties 
is  by  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  LL.D.,  (178),  who  in 
the  American  Academy  of  Science,  1785,  under  the  title 


184  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

"Account  of  Indigenous  Vegetables,"  mentions  Lobelia 
under  the  name  emetic  weed.  Following  this,  Schopf 
(582),  1787,  incorrectly  ascribed  to  it  astringent  prop- 
erties, stating  that  it  was  used  in  ophthalmia,  evidently 
confusing  the  properties  of  Lobelia  inflata  with  those  of 
its  relative,  Lobelia  syphilitica.  The  Indians  of  North 
America  employed  lobelia  when  necessity  required,  as  a 
substitute  for  tobacco.  The  writer  of  this  historical 
study  observed  a  very  interesting  ceremony  among  the 
Moqui  Indians  on  their  reservation  in  which  a  council 
(circle)  of  old  men  passed  the  pipe  after  each  address  or 
speech.  The  material  smoked  was  a  broken  leaf  mix- 
ture, seemingly  a  form  of  lobelia.  The  statement  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke  (381a)  to  the  effect  that  the  Chippe- 
was  used  the  root  of  lobelia,  refers  evidently  to  the  root 
oi  Lobelia  syphilitica,  no  record  concerning  the  use  of 
Lobelia  inflata  by  the  Indians  being  found  in  such  pub- 
lications as  the  Book  of  the  Indians,  1837,  by  Drake 
(198).  Nor  was  it  named  in  Indian  Medicine,  by 
Browne,  (104),  (edited  by  W.  W.  Beach,  1877;  Long's 
(393)  account  of  the  medicine  and  practice  of  the  In- 
dians of  the  West,  1819;  nor  by  Nuttall,  (477),  who  in- 
formed Dr.  Mattson  (415)  that  he  had  never  known 
the  Indians  to  use  Lobelia  inflata.  Indian  Captivities, 
though  prolific  as  concerns  the  customs  of  the  Indians, 
ignores  the  drug,  as  is  also  the  case  with  the  American 
Herbal,  by  Samuel  Stearns,  M.  D.,  (612),  1772,  though 
in  this  reference  is  made  to  other  species  of  lobelia. 
Neither  Barton  (43)  nor  Rafinesque  (535)  mentions 
Lobelia  inflata,  from  personal  experience,  as  an  Indian 
remedy.  Catlin  (131a)  in  his  Manners,  Customs,  and 
Condition  of  the  North  American  Indians,  omits  all  men- 
tion of  lobelia.  However,  Mattson,  (415),  1841,  in  his 


LOBELIA  185 

American  Vegetable  Practice,  states  that  "there  is  abun- 
dant traditionary  evidence  that  lobelia  was  used  by  the 
Penobscot  Indians  long  before  the  time  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Thomson,  its  reputed  discoverer,  but  with  the  excep- 
tion of  that  tribe,  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  by 
any  researches  I  have  made  that  the  American  aborig- 
ines had  any  knowledge  of  its  properties  or  virtues." 
Samuel  Thomson,  (638) ,  whose  name  is  so  closely  linked 
with  that  of  lobelia  as  never  to  be  dissociated  therefrom, 
says,  "It  has  never  occurred  to  me  that  it  was  of  any 
value  in  medicine  until  this  time  (1793),"  and  also,  "In 
the  fall  of  1807,  I  introduced  lobelia,  tinctured  in  spirit 
as  a  remedy  in  asthma."  Mattson,  however,  1841,  in- 
sists that  its  use  by  the  people  of  New  England  was 
long  before  Thomson's  time,  reciting  that  "Mr.  Phillip 
Owen,  now  eighty  years  old,  relates  that  when  a  boy 
he  was  sent  into  the  field  by  his  mother  to  collect  some 
lobelia  for  a  child  sick  with  quinsy,  and  that  the  herb, 
administered  in  the  usual  manner,  afforded  speedy  and 
entire  relief."  The  publication  in  which  this  occurs, 
dated  1841,  shows  that  lobelia  was  a  domestic  remedy 
in  1770.  Other  evidence,  (see  Drugs  and  Medicines  of 
North  America,  pp.  83-89),  (389),  indicates  conclusively 
that  lobelia  was  a  domestic  remedy  with  the  settlers  of 
North  America  before  the  day  of  the  noted  empiricist, 
Samuel  Thomson,  who,  however,  gave  to  it  the  con- 
spicuity  it  has  enjoyed  for  over  a  hundred  years.  The 
writer  of  this  historical  record  is  of  the  opinion  that  lo- 
belia will  yet  be  shown  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable 
of  all  the  vegetable  remedies  native  to  America.  Very 
much  does  its  professional  record  remind  of  cinchona. 
In  1885  a  historical  and  illustrated  study  of  lobelia 
was  made  by  J.  U.  and  C.  G.  Lloyd  in  the  publication 


Ig5  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

"Drugs  and  Medicines  of  North  America,"  pp.  63  to  97, 
in  which  was  included  special  contributions  by  Doctors 
Scudder,  Hale  and  Bartholow  on  its  therapeutic  uses. 
That  of  Bartholow  was  mainly  devoted  to  its  physiolog- 
ical action,  being  the  first  careful  study  in  this  direction. 
Believing  in  the  importance  of  this  much  neglected 
American  drug,  we  reproduce  herewith  the  references 
cited  in  Drugs  and  Medicines  of  North  America  as  being 
among  the  most  important:1 

Important  Pharmaceutical  and  Medical  References  to 
Lobelia  (Chronological) 

1785. — Indigenous  Vegetables,  Cutler,  p.  484,  from  Am.  Journal 

Science  and  Arts. 
1787. — Materia   Medica   Americana,    David   Schopf,    Erlanger 

(Germany),  p.  128. 
179$.— Medical  Botany,   Woodville,  Vol.   II,  p.   249   (Lobelia 

syphilitica). 

1793. — .Domestic  Medicine,  William  Buchan,  Edinburgh,  p.  513. 
1798.— Collections  for  a  Materia  Medica  of  the  United  States, 

B.  S.  Barton,  part  first,   (3d  edition,    1810),    p.  36. 
1808. — The    Pharmacopoeia    of    the    Massachusetts    Medical 

Society,  Boston,  1808. 
1810. — The  American  New  Dispensatory,  Thacher,  p.  146,  (and 

other  editions). 

1811. — The  American  Lexicon,  (author  not  named),  New  York. 
This  is  simply  an  imitation  of  Quincy;  this  paper  being 

copied  verbatim. 
1817.— Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica,  Chapman,  p.  272, 

(and  other  editions). 
1817.— Vegetable  Materia  Medica,  W.  P.  C.   Barton,  Vol.  I, 

p.  181. 
1818. — The  American  Dispensatory,  Coxe,  p.  329  (and  other 

editions). 

1820. — The  House  Surgeon  and  Physician,  Hand. 
1820. — Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  p.  40. 
1820. — Medical  Dictionary,  Hooper,  (and  other  editions). 
1821. — A  Supplement  to  the  Pharmacopreia,   London,   p.   73. 
1822. — New  Guide  to  Health  or  Botanic  Family  Physician  and 

subsequent  editions  as  well  as  other  publications  by 

the  author,  Samuel  Thomson. 

1  In  planning  this  history  of  drugs,  the  question  arose  as  to  whether  references  should 
follow  each  article,  or  be  placed  after  the  work  and  indicated  by  numbers  in  the  text.  The 
latter  plan  was  selected  to  save  space.  The  articles  on  lobelia  and  cinchona  indicate 
what  others  would  have  been. 


LOBELIA  187 

1822. — Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  Eberle,  Vol.  I,  p.  63. 
1826.— A  Materia  Medica  of  the  United  States,  Zollickoffer, 

pp.  155,  167,  194,  198,  209,  212. 
1828. — Materia  Medica  and  Pharmacy,  Murray,  p.  183,  (and 

other  editions). 
1829. — Manual  of  Materia  Medica  and  Pharmacy,  Edwards  and 

Vavasseur,  pp.  262,  362. 

1830. — The  Botanic  Physician,  Smith,  p.  475. 
1830.— Introduction  to  the  Natural  System  of  Botany,  Lindley, 

p.  187. 

1830.— Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  Philadelphia,  p.  15. 
1830. — Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  New  York,  p.  43. 
1832. — An  Improved  System  of  Botanic  Medicine.  Howard. 

Vol.  II,  p.  337,  (and  other  editions). 
1833.— A  Narrative  of  the  Life  and  Medical   Discoveries  of 

Samuel  Thomson,  (various  references). 
1833. — Prodrome  of  a  work  to  aid  the  teaching  of  the  Vegetable 

Materia  Medica,  W.  P.  C.  Barton,  p.  60. 
1833.— New  Guide  to  Health,  Samuel  Thomson,  p.  46,  (various 

other  references).     This  is  the  tenth  edition.     The 

copyright  was  obtained  in  1822. 
1833. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  282. 
1833. — United  States  Dispensatory,  (and  subsequent  editions). 
1833.— The  American  Practice  of  Medicine,  Beach,  Vol.  Ill, 

p.  120. 
1833. — The  Eclectic  and  Medical  Botanist,  (a  Journal  printed  in 

Columbus,  Ohio),  p.  340. 

1833. — The  Thomsonian  Recorder,  Vol.  I,  pp.  254,  516. 
1834.— American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  300. 
1834.— The  Thomsonian  Recorder,  Vol.  II,  pp.  119,  199,  200. 
1834.— Medical  Botany,  Sanborn,  p.  105. 
1835.— The  Thomsonian  Recorder,  pp.  3,  4,  91,  150,  155,  177, 

209,  253,  283,  284,  288,  318,  380,  412,  414. 
1836.— General   Therapeutics,   Dunglison,   pp.   229,   230,    (and 

other  editions). 
1836.— The  Thomsonian  Recorder,  pp.  145,  205,  247,  283,  359, 

405. 

1836.— The  Western  Medical  Reformer,  pp.  104,  207,  374. 
1837. — The  Thomsonian  Recorder,  pp.  192,  199,  252,  292,  315, 

330,  334,  384,  388,  402. 

1837.— The  Western  Medical  Reformer,  pp.  126,  189. 
1838.— American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  98. 
1838.— The  Botanico-Medical  Reformer,  pp.  26,  61,  72,  80,  100, 

102,  118,  128,  134,  138,  142,  163,  189,  206,  211,  227, 

234,  236,  238,  299,  305,  400. 
1838.— The  Southern  Botanic  Journal,  pp.  36,  77,  153,  248,  253, 

354. 


188  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

1839. — Lobelia  Advocate  and  Thomsonian  Medical  Recorder, 

by  Rev.  John  Rose.1 

1840. — Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  pp.  25,  214. 
1840. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  280. 
1840. — Phannacopee  Universelle,  Jourdan,  p.  802. 
1840.— Elements  of  Materia  Medica,  Pereira,  Vol.  II,  p.  385. 
1841.— The  Thomsonian   Materia  Medica,   Thomson,  p.   581. 
1841. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  1. 
1841.— The  Botanico-Medical  Reformer,  p.  168. 
1841.— New  Remedies,  Dunglison. 
1841. — American  Vegetable  Practice,  Mattson,  Vol.  I,  pp.  160  to 

174,  312,  317,  404. 

1842.— The  Botanico-Medical  Reformer,  pp.  47,  88,  177, 198,  203. 
1842. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  4. 
1842,— A  Treatise  of   the   Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics, 

Eberle,  p.  67.  . 
1842.— Botanic  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  Worthy,  pp. 

594,  611,  620,  627. 

1843.— Pharmaceutishes   Central-Blatt,  No.  31,  July  5th. 
1843. — General  Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica,  Dunglison, 

Vol.  I,  p.  121;  Vol.  II,  p.  197. 
1843. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  108. 
1844.— The  Sick  Man's  Friend,  Sanborn,  pp.  96,  243. 
1844. — Medicines,    Their  Uses  and   Mode   of  Administration, 

Neligan,  p.  215. 

1844.     Botanico-Medical  Recorder,  pp.  252,  237,  372. 
1845. — Botanico-Medical  Recorder,  p.  162. 
1845. — The   Practice  of  Medicine  on  Thomsonian   Principles, 

Comfort,  p.  441. 
1845. — Elements  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  Harrison, 

Vol.  II,  p.  447. 

1846.— The  Medical  Formulary,  Ellis,  p.  46. 
1846.— Botanico-Medical  Recorder,  pp.  74,  77,  259. 
1847. — Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  Royle,  (by  Carson), 

p.  456. 
1847. — Family   Flora   and   Materia   Medica    Botanica,    Good, 

plate  27. 
1847.— Botanico-Medical  Reference  Book,  Biggs,  pp.  500,  586, 

588. 
1847.— The  American   Practice,   Beach,    (and  other  editions), 

p.  661. 

1847.— Medical  Botany,  Griffith,  p.  418. 
1848.— Medicinal  Plants  of  New  York,  Lee,  p.  35. 
1848. — Mayne's  Dispensatory  and  Formulary,  pp.  56,  159,  204. 
1848.— Medicinal  Plants  of  South  Carolina,  p.  785. 

'  This  unique  publication  was  issued  monthly  in  the  interests  ofthe  lobelia  practice, 
during  the  year  1839.  It  was  not  supported,  and  only  one  volume  appeared.  We  are 
indebted  to  Dr.  Charles  Rose  for  this  volume  complete,  probably  the  only  copy  in  existence. 
In  its  front  is  bound  the  "  Trial  of  Dr.  Frost."  We  do  not  refer  to  pages  in  this  work,  ita  tide 
showing  that  the  entire  subject  is  connected  with  lobelia. 


LOBELIA  189 

1849. — Elements  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics.  Kost, 

pp.  78  to  86,  198,  227,  487. 

1850. — Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  pp.  29,  250. 
1850. — Pharmaceutical   Journal   and   Transactions,    (Vol.    X), 

p.  270. 
1850.— The    Physio-Medical    Recorder   and   Surgical    Journal, 

p.  183. 
1850— Medicinal  Plants  of  the  United  States,  Clapp,  (Am.  Med. 

Report),  pp.  807  to  809. 

1851.— Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Transactions,  pp.  270,  561. 
1852.— The  Eclectic  Dispensatory,  King  and  Newton,  p.  246. 
1853.— Principles  of  Scientific  Botany,  Bickley,  p.  175. 
1854. — Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  p.  312. 
1854. — An   Improved  System  of  Botanic   Medicine,   Howard, 

pp.  328-338.     " 
1854. — The    Elements    of    Materia    Medica    or    Therapeutics, 

Pereira,  (Carson's  edition)  Vol.  II,  pp.  583  to  587. 
1855.— The  Middle  States  Medical  Reformer,  pp.  1  to  4,  44. 
1857.— Druggist's  Circular,  p.  158. 

1857.— Materia   Medica  and   Therapeutics,    Mitchell,   p.   567. 
1859.— Domestic  Medicine,  Kost,  pp.  307,  362,  366,  380,  383,  437. 
I860.— Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  pp.  34,  331. 
1861.— Book  of  Formulae,  Tilden  &  Co.,  p.  73. 
1864.— Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica,  Stille",  p.  280. 
1864. — Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  p.  141. 
1865. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  211. 
1865. — Proceedings  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  p.  211. 
1866. — American  Eclectic  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics, 

Jones  &  Scudder,  pp.  13,  112,  113,  235,  675. 
1867.— Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  p.  269. 
1869.— Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  p.  237. 
1870.— Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  pp.  36,  63,  313. 
1870.— Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  pp.  206,  400,  445, 

476. 

1871. — Botanical  Survey  of  Louisiana,  Featherman,  p.  96. 
1871. — Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  pp.  10,  145. 
1872. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  293. 
1872. — Pharmacopoeia  Homeopathica  Polyglotta,  pp.  106,  190. 
1872. — Druggist's  Circular,  p.  160. 

1873. — Dictionary  of  Pharmaceutical  Science,  Sweringen,  p.  253. 
1873.— Druggist's  Circular,  p.  56. 
1874. — Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  p.  46. 
1875.— Hale's  New  Remedies,  Vol.  II,  p.  416. 
1875.— On  Poisons,  Taylor,  p.  735. 
1875. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  127. 
1875. — Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  Feb.  4th. 
1875.— Druggists  Circular,  p.  66. 
1876.— New  Remedies,  Wm.  Wood  &  Co. 
1876.— Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  p.  125. 
1876.— Journal  of  Materia  Medica,  Bates  &  Tilden,  p.  103. 


190  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

1877.— Encyclopaedia  of  Pure  Materia  Medica,  Allen,  Vol.  V, 

p.  611. 

1877. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  588. 
1877.— The  Pocket  Formulary,  Beasley,  p.  237. 
1877. — Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Transactions,  p.  958. 
1877.— New  Remedies,  Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  p.  366. 
1877. — The  New  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  Goss,  pp.  17, 

31. 

1877.— Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  pp.  290,  578,  579. 
1878. — American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  254. 
1878. — Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  p.  78. 
1878. — Pharmaceutical    Journal    and    Transactions,    London, 

p.  561. 

1878. — Organic  Constituents  of  Plants,  Wittstein,  p.  122. 
1878. — Dispensatory  and  Pharmacopeia  of  North  America  and 

Great  Britain,  Buchanan  &  Siggins,  pp.  194,  196,  574. 
1878.— New  Remedies,  Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  pp.  21,  84. 
1879. — Pharmacographia,  Fliickiger  &  Hanbury,  p.  400. 
1879. — National     Dispensatory,     (and     subsequent    editions), 

p.  859. 

1880. — Pharmacopeia  Homoeopathica,  Polyglotta,  p.  222. 
1880.— Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  pp.  8,  131,  211,  349. 
1880.— Therapeutic  Gazette,  pp.  34,  94. 
1882.— New  Remedies,  Wm.  Wood  &  Co.,  p.  240. 
1882. — Druggists'  Circular,  p.  158. 
1884. — Plant  Analysis,   Dragendorff,   (Greenish's  Translation), 

pp.  50,  202. 

1885.— Materica  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  Bartholow,  p.  583. 
1886.— American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  p.  392. 

"We  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  mention  all  the 
important  works  that  refer  to  this  plant  and  its  com- 
pounds. Since  1809  medical  publications  of  every  de- 
scription have  continually  mentioned  the  plant,  and 
medical  references  are  innumerable.  In  order  to  arrive 
at  a  correct  understanding  of  the  subject,  we  made  com- 
parative studies  of  the  record  as  found  in  the  preceding 
works,  and  have  found  other  publications  to  present  few 
additional  facts.  We  may  safely  say  that  the  lobelia 
history  may  be  studied  as  intelligently  in  these  as  by 
the  aid  of  additional  numberless  works  that  mention 
the  plant." — Editors,  Drugs  and  Medicines  of  North 
America. 


MALTUM  191 

LYCOPODIUM    (Lycopodium) 

Introduced  into  U.  S.  P.  1860.  Official  in  all  later  editions,  in- 
cluding 1910. 

From  the  beginning  of  recorded  time  the  minute 
spores  of  Lycopodium  clavatum  (and  other  species), 
known  also  to  the  early  botanists  as  Muscus  terrestris, 
or  Muscus  clavatus,  have  been  commended  for  their 
therapeutic  virtues.  This  plant,  the  common  club 
moss,  is  found  throughout  Central  and  Northern  Eu- 
rope, Russian  Asia,  Japan,  North  and  South  America, 
the  Falkland  Islands,  and  even  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  being  so  widely  distributed  as  to  have  led,  nat- 
urally, to  its  therapeutic  use  in  common  life,  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  The  spores  of  lycopodium  have  been 
used  in  domestic  therapy  as  an  application  to  fresh 
wounds,  and  have  thus  a  reputation  as  an  absorbent 
styptic.  Official  in  pharmacy  in  the  middle  of  the  17th 
century,  the  English  druggists  seem  not  to  have  in- 
cluded the  powder  in  their  list  of  drugs  before  1692,  nor 
has  it  been  official  in  any  of  the  London  Pharmacopeias. 
Lycopodium  is  much  employed  in  Homeopathic  and 
Eclectic  medication.  In  connection  with  shellac  and 
earthy  salts,  it  is  also  used  in  large  quantities  in  the 
making  of  different  colored  signal  fires,  as  well  as  for 
color  displays  for  evening  celebrations. 

MALTUM  (Malt) 

Official  only  in  1880,  1900  and  1910.  Malt  is  derived  from 
the  grain  of  one  or  more  varieties  of  Hordeum  sativum  ( Hordeum 
distichon,  U.  S.  P.  1900)  or  Barley. 

The  time  of  the  introduction  of  malt  ante- 
dates the  lore  of  systematic  medication.  Germi- 
nated barley,  kiln-dried,  has  been  used  in  the  mak- 


192  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

ing  of  malted  liquors  since  a  very  early  date,  and 
malt  liquors  have  been  in  domestic  use,  both  as  a  bever- 
age and  an  extract,  for  a  very  long  period.  The  intro- 
duction of  malt  into  the  Pharmacopeia  resulted  from 
the  empirical  use  of  the  semi-proprietary  "Extracts  of 
Malt,"  which  a  few  years  after  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  became  popular  in  domestic  as  well  as  in  pro- 
fessional use.  Its  introduction  to  medicine  is,  however, 
(as  with  many  other  substances,  of  merit  or  otherwise), 
due  largely  to  the  efforts  of  manufacturing  pharmacists. 

MANNA   (Manna) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
Biblical  manna  was  a  food  that  sustained  the  Israel- 
ites in  the  wilderness  (Ex.  xvi:  14-36;  Numbers  xi:  6, 7). 
It  was  believed  to  be  of  miraculous  origin,  as  though 
falling  from  Heaven. 

•''Each  morning,  on  the  ground, 
Not  common  dew,  but  Manna  did  abound." 

Sylvester,  tr.  of  Du  Bartas'  Weeks,  ii.  Eden  (Cent. 
Did.) 

That  the  idea  of  a  miraculous,  heaven-supplied  food 
is  not  even  yet  considered  irrational,  is  shown  in  our 
study  of  American  Manna  (pp.  194,  195). 

"In  an  official  report  received  today,  Consul  Heizar 
states  that  manna  is  found  now  in  the  regions  of 
Upper  Mesopotamia  and  Kurdistan,  and  along  the 
Persian  frontier.  It  falls,  he  says,  in  the  form  of  dew 
during  September,  October,  and  November.  It  is  eaten 
by  the  natives."  (New  York  Times,  March  23,  1921.) 
To  this  we  will  add  that  a  twenty-four  hour  sand  storm 
that  we  met  in  Egypt  in  1906,  not  far  from  the  place 
where  Moses  is  said  to  have  led  the  Israelites  across 


AMERICAN  MANNA  193 

the  Red  Sea,  left  the  earth  covered  with  live  lady  bugs. 
The  nearest  wooded  land  from  the  storm's  direction, 
a  thousand  or  more  miles,  was  African  Abyssinia.  A 
lichen  (manna  lichen)  is  said  likewise  to  be  carried  "vast 
distances,"  and  is  eaten  where  it  "falls  from  heaven." 
Manna  of  commerce  is  supplied  by  the  manna  ash, 
Fraxinus  Ornus,  of  the  Southern  Tyrol,  Italy,  Switzer- 
land, Asia  Minor,  and  the  mountainous  islands  of  the 
Mediterranean  and  countries  adjacent.  In  Central 
Europe  it  grows  as  an  ornamental  tree,  the  foliage  ex- 
hibiting great  variation  in  shape  of  leaflets,  and  the 
fruit  being  diverse  in  form.  According  to  Fliickiger 
and  Hanbury,  (240),  previous  to  the  15th  century  the 
manna  of  Europe  was  imported  from  the  East,  and  was 
not  derived  from  the  manna  ash.  Manna  in  early  days 
was  a  natural  exudate,  much  scarcer  than  at  present, 
and  much  more  expensive.  The  increase  in  production, 
now  artificially  maintained,  has  lessened  the  price,  but 
at  the  expense  of  quality.  During  the  16th  century 
the  plan  was  devised  of  artificially  producing  a  more 
copious  supply  of  the  gum  by  incising  the  trunk  and 
branches,  and  this  method  gradually  became  predom- 
inant, although  it  was  strenuously  resisted  by  legisla- 
tive enactments.  The  name  Gibelmanna,  manna 
mountain,  by  which  an  eminence  of  the  Madonian  range 
of  mountains  in  Sicily  is  known,  indicates  that  this 
mountain  furnished  manna  during  the  days  of  the 
Saracens  in  Sicily.  Manna  has  been  used  as  a  domestic 
remedy  from  all  times  as  a  gentle  laxative.  It  is  sup- 
posed, in  domestic  medicine  in  this  country,  to  modify 
the  griping  qualities  of  a  mixture  of  senna  and  jalap. 
Its  domestic  use  in  America  came  through  European 
home  medication. 


194  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS      . 

When  Professor  Fliickiger  visited  America,  July, 
1894,  he  hoped  to  obtain  historical  data  that  would 
enable  him  to  give  the  records  of  several  interesting 
American  productions.  Failing  in  this,  he  associated 
in  his  behalf  the  writer,  who  agreed  to  furnish  the  his- 
torical record  of  these  drugs,  Dr.  Fliickiger  assuming 
their  chemical  responsibility,  after  the  manner  of 
Fliickiger  and  Hanbury's  Pharmacographia.  After  a 
few  papers  on  American  drugs  had  been  contributed  by 
the  writer,  the  work  was  interrupted  by  the  death  of 
Dr.  Fliickiger.  His  papers  passed  into  the  possession  of 
Professor  Ed.  Schar,  of  Strasburg  University,  who 
translated  several  of  the  writer's  contributions  into  the 
German,  for  the  pages  of  Berichte  der  deutschen  pharma- 
ceutischen  Gesellschaft.  The  original  of  one  of  these,  on 
the  subject  of  the  American,  or  California  manna,  ap- 
peared in  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  July, 
1897.  This  we  present  in  full,  as  properly  belonging  to 
the  subject  of  manna,  which  would  otherwise  be 
incomplete. 

AMERICAN  MANNA  (The  California  Manna) 

MENTIONED  BY  FATHER  picoLO.    (With  a  summary.) 
Query  by  Prof.  Fliickiger: 

"What  was  the  manna  mentioned  by  one  Father 
Picolo1  in  California  and  alluded  to  by  Proust,  in  Ann. 
d.  Chim.,  57  (1806),  p.  145? 
Answer  by  John  Uri  Lloyd. 

DEAR  PROF.  FLUCKIGER: — I  find,  on  reference  to  the  paper 
cited,  that  the  statement  is  as  follows: 

Proust.  Ann.  d.  Chim.  57,  p.  145.   On  the  Sugar  of  the  Grape. 

1  "Picolo,  Francois  Marie,  a  Sicilian  Jesuit,  was  born  in  Palermo,  March  24,  1654, 
entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  1673,  and  made  the  four  vows  in  Mexico  in  1689.  He 
founded  the  Mission  of  Jesus  of  Carichic,  where  he  resided  for  fourteen  years,  and  after- 
wards united  with  Father  Jean  de  Salvatierra  in  order  to  open  the  missions  in  California. 

"After  a  stay  of  forty  years  with  the  missions,  he  received  the  reward  of  his  toil  on 
February  22,  1729." 


MANNA  195 

The  manna  seems  to  abound  in  America,  according  to  the  re- 
ports of  travellers.  Herera  says:  "It  falls  in  the  season  in  the 
quantity  of  a  dew,  which  congeals  like  sugar,  and  which  is  so 
wholesome  that  it  is  named  Manna.  Father  Picolo,  one  of  the 
first  spiritual  conquerors  of  California,  assures  us  that  it  exudes 
in  considerable  amounts  from  the  shrubs  (arbrisseaux)  in  April, 
May  and  June. 

It  will  be  shown  hereafter  that  this  is  not  a  literal  abstract 
from  the  original  source,  where  the  word  roseaux  is  used  instead 
of  the  word  arbrisseaux. 

In  tracing  this  subject,  first  the  story  of  Father  Picolo  presents 
itself  as  follows: 

WRITINGS  OF  FRANCOIS   MARIE   PICOLO.1 

Abstracted  from  Bibliotheque  des  Ecrivains  de  la 
Compagnie  de  J6sus,  Liege  A.  Lyon,  1872,  p.  1957. 

His  writings,  as  far  as  known  to  me,2  are  contained  in 
the  following  communication: 

"Memoir,  with  regard  to  the  conditions  of  the  mis- 
sions lately  established  in  California,  by  the  Fathers  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus;  presented  to  the  Royal  Council  of 
Guadalaxara,  in  Mexico,  February  10,  1702,  by  Father 
Francois  Marie  Picolo,  of  the  same  society,  and  one  of 
the  original  founders  of  this  Mission." 

This  memoir  of  F.  M.  Picolo  is  reprinted  literally  in 
W.  I.  Kip's  Historical  Scenes  from  the  Old  Jesuit  Mis- 
sions, New  York,  1875,  which  is  an  abstract  of  Amer- 
ican topics  from  the  following  work: 

"Lettres  Edifiantes  et  curieuses,  ecrites  des  Missions 
Etrangeres,  in  47  volumes,  containing  the  letters  of  the 
Jesuit  missionaries  from  about  1650  to  1750,"  this  col- 
lection being  purchased  by  W.  I.  Kip  from  the  library 
of  the  Bishop  of  Durham. 

Speaking  in  Chapter  II,  Missions  in  Lower  Califor- 
nia, 1702,  he  states,  p.  57,  "in  the  months  of  April,  May 

1  Thanks  are  extended  St.  Xavier's  College,  Cincinnati,  for  library  courtesies  extended 
to  Dr.  Rigmond  Waldbott,  who  made  the  translations  that  enabled  us  to  ptesent  this 
study  of  manna. 

»J.  U.L. 
14 


196  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

and  June,  a  kind  of  manna  falls  with  the  dew,  which 
congeals  and  hardens  on  the  leaves  of  the  reeds1  (ros- 
eaux)  from  which  it  is  gathered.  I  have  tasted  it.  It  is 
a  little  darker  than  sugar,  but  has  all  its  sweetness." 

Endeavoring  to  identify  Father  Picolo's  manna,  the 
following  reference  to  manna-like  bodies  (false  mannas) 
was  noted  in  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  17th  Ed.,  Phila- 
delphia, 1894,  p.  850,  which,  however,  are  not  the  same 
manna  as  that  of  Picolo. 

"American  False  Manna.  A  substance  resembling 
manna,  of  a  sweet,  slightly  bitter,  and  terebinthinate 
taste,  and  actively  purgative,  exudes  from  incisions  in 
Pinus  Lambertiana  of  Oregon,  and  is  used  by  the 
natives."  (Nar.  of  U.  S.  Expl.  Exp.,  v.  232.) 

"M.  Berthelot  has  abstracted  from  this  product  a 
peculiar  saccharine  principle  which  he  calls  'pinite.' " 
(See  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  vol.  28,  p.  157.) 

The  strongly  cathartic  properties  of  this  manna  of 
the  pinus  and  its  resemblance  to  manna  are  empha- 
sized in  the  following  description  of  this  substance: 

I.  Wilkes,  Narrative  of  the  U.  S.  Exploring  Exped., 
Philadelphia,  1850,  Vol.  5. 

P.  232.  Speaking  of  the  Pinus  Lambertiana,  which 
they  found  frequently  when  crossing  the  Umpgua 
Mountains  in  Southern  Oregon.  "Some  of  the  sugar 
produced  by  this  tree  was  obtained;  it  is  of  a  sweet 
taste,  with  a  slightly  bitter  and  piny  flavor;  it  resembles 
manna,  and  is  obtained  by  the  Indians  by  burning  a 
cavity  in  the  tree,  whence  it  exudes.  It  is  gathered  in 
large  quantities. 

"This  sugar  is  a  powerful  cathartic,  and  affected  all 
the  party  who  partook  of  it;  yet  it  is  said  that  it  is  used 

1  Roseaux,  in  the  original  Lettres  gdifiantes,  etc.,  Tome  V,  p.  264,  Kip's  translation, 
is  literal,  as  baa  been  verified  from  the  original  letter.-J.  U.  L. 


MANNA  197 

as  a  substitute  for  sugar  among  the  trappers  and 
hunters." 

II.  John  S.  Newberry,  botanist  in  charge  of  the  U.  S. 
Pacific  R.  R.  Surveys,  California  and  Oregon.  Botan- 
ical Report,  1855,  p.  44.  On  the  Pinus  Lambertiana,  the 
Sugar  Pine. 

"The  resin  of  the  sugar  pine  is  less  abundant  than 
that  of  the  P.  ponderosa;  is  white  or  transparent  like 
that  of  P.  strobiis. 

"That  which  exudes  from  partially  burnt  trees,  for 
the  most  part,  loses  its  terebinthine  taste  and  smell, 
and  acquires  a  sweetness  nearly  equal  to  that  of 
sugar. 

"This  sugar  gives  the  tree  its  name,  and  is  sometimes 
used  for  sweetening  food.  It  has,  however,  decided 
cathartic  properties,  and  is  oftener  used  by  the  frontier 
men  as  a  medicine  than  a  condiment. 

"Its  resemblance  in  taste,  appearance  and  properties 
to  manna  strikes  one  instantly;  and  but  for  a  slight 
terebinthine  flavor,  it  might  be  substituted  for  that 
drug  without  the  knowledge  of  the  druggist  or  phy- 
sician, its  physical  and  medical  properties  are  so  very 
like." 

It  is  not  possible  that  Father  Picolo  refers  to  the 
sugar  from  these  trees,  as  he  failed  to  record  any  cathar- 
tic properties  as  an  attribute  of  his  sugar;  furthermore, 
the  manner  which  he  describes  of  collecting  the  sugar 
hardly  conforms  to  the  description  just  given  as  to  the 
manner  of  collecting  it  from  these  trees.  It  is  most 
probable,  according  to  his  brief  statement  on  the  sub- 
ject (for  he  mentions  it  as  occurring  "on  the  leaves  of 
the  reeds"),  that  high  trees  carrying  sugar  in  their  sap 
are  out  of  question,  although  such  sugar  trees  were  not 


198  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

unlikely  to  have  been  met  by  him.  For  example,  also, 
(white  maple,  Acer  macrophyllum,  see  appended  list  of 
references,  No.  8). 

Only  reed  grasses  are  likely  to  come  into  consideration 
with  the  manna  of  Picolo,  and  of  these  we  have  recorded 
as  follows: 

(1)  Manna  grass,  Glyceria.    This  seems  to  be  out  of 
the  question,  as  text-books  on  botany   (Gray,  etc.) 
state  that  the  name,  denoting  sweet,  is  given  in  allusion 
to  the  taste  of  the  grain. 

(2)  Phragmites  communis,  Trin.    Described  by  U.  S. 
Geological  exploration  of  the  40th  parallel.      C.  King, 
5th  vol.  Botany.    S.  Watson,  p.  390. 

"Found  from  Florida  to  Canada  and  westward  to  the 
Pacific.  On  the  banks  of  fresh-water  streams  and 
springs  from  the  Truckee  to  the  East  Humboldt  Moun- 
tains, Nevada,  4-6000  feet  altitude.  Sugar  is  said  by 
Durand  and  Hilgard1  to  be  extracted  from  the  stalks  of 
this  grass  by  the  Indians,  but  the  scanty  juice  is  not  at 
all  saccharine. 

"A  sweet  secretion,  however,  is  sometimes  formed 
upon  it  in  considerable  quantity  by  aphides,  as  well  as 
upon  the  leaves  of  cotton-wood  and  other  trees,  and  is 
collected  by  both  the  Utes  and  the  Mormons." 

If  this  is  correct  [there  is  no  higher  authority  to  be 
found  than  Sereno  Watson],  the  "manna"  observed  to 
form  on  these  plants  is  the  secretion  of  an  insect  and 
not  an  exudation  from  the  plant.  Phragmites  com- 
munis, thus  far,  comes  nearest  the  plant  described  by 
Father  Picolo. 

All  the  plants  cited  before  were  found  to  occur  in 
locations  altogether  different  from  the  locality  where 

i  Pacific  R.  R.  Surveys,  Bqt.  Rep,     By  Durand  and  Hilgard,  Washington,  D.  C., 


MANNA  199 

Father  Picolo  made  his  observations,  which  does  not, 
however,  preclude  them  from  his  territory. 

Father  Picolo's  range  of  observation  never  extended 
north  of  Lower  California,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
information  we  have  of  this  California  (which  is  really 
a  part  of  Mexico)  is  rather  scant. 

The  following  publications  present  two  sources  of 
information  on  Lower  California: 

First:  J.  Ross  Browne,  Resources  of  States  and 
Territories  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  New  York, 
1869,  with  an  appendix,  p.  630,  on  Lower  California, 
and  with  an  historical  addition,  a  Sketch  of  the  Settle- 
ment and  Exploration  of  Lower  California,  by  Alex.  S. 
Taylor. 

Description  of  Lower  California  by  J.  Ross  Browne, 
contains  the  following  passage: 

Page  637,  "Fields  of  sugar  cane  are  too  common  to 
excite  remark,  and  the  manufacture  of  sugar  is  one  of 
the  most  important  interests  of  the  southern  part  of 
the  peninsula.  .  .  .  The  cane  fields  extend  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach  from  San  Jose"."  (This  place  is  situated 
at  the  extreme  southern  coast.)  "Sugar  mills  in  Co- 
mondu  .  .  .  sugar  exported  in  Purisima."  This  does  not 
refer  to  the  manna  under  discussion,  and  it  will  be 
mentioned  later  that  this  sugar  cane  is  not  indigenous, 
but  was  imported  by  later  settlers. 

Second:  Enclyclopcedia  Britannica,  ninth  ed.  On 
California;  makes  mention  of  Lower  California  also, 
introducing  it  as  follows: 

"The  interior  of  Lower  California  is  chiefly  known  to 
us  as  to  its  physical  and  geological  structure,  from  a 
reconnaissance  made  by  Messrs.  Gabb  and  Loehr  of 
the  State  Geological  Survey  of  California,  in  1867. 


200  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

This  exploration  was  set  on  foot  in  order  that  some 
information  might  be  obtained  relative  to  the  value  of 
a  concession  made  by  the  Mexican  Government  to  an 
American  company.  This  grant  was  expected  to  lead 
to  a  settlement  of  the  country,  but  the  whole  thing 
turned  out  a  failure." 

The  work  referred  to,  The  State  Geological  Survey  of 
California  in  1867  in  charge  of  Messrs.  Gabb  and  Loehr, 
is  unfortunately  not  at  our  command.  It  may  possibly 
name  that  "reed"  which  yielded  sugar,  as  observed  by 
Father  Picolo. 

However,  the  first-named  book,  by  J.  Ross  Browne, 
in  its  second  part,  A  Sketch  of  the  Settlement  and  Ex- 
ploration of  Lower  California,  by  Alex.  S.  Taylor,  that 
appeared  in  1869,  makes  mention  of  the  exploration  of 
Lower  California  that  had  taken  place  in  1867  by 
Messrs.  Gabb  and  Loehr,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  J. 
Ross  Browne,  the  results  of  which,  however,  were  not 
then  published. 

Mr.  J.  Ross  Browne,  however,  gives  a  general  out- 
line of  this  exploration,  based  on  detailed  letters  he 
received  from  Mr.  Gabb  while  on  his  exploring  tour. 

P.  66,  a  description  of  vegetation  in  Lower  California 
is  given,  which  may  be  condensed  as  follows: 

"Agaves  (century  plant)  are  also  abundant,  may  be 
useful  in  the  future  to  extract  spirits  from  the  root.  .  .  . 
Acacias,  palms  with  edible  fruits,  coniferse,  oaks,  wild 
plums,  cottonwoods,  sycamores,  willows,  elder.  The 
Arabian  date  palm,  introduced  by  missionaries,  is 
thriving.  The  sugar  cane  has  been  cultivated  for  more 
than  a  century,  and  yields  a  sugar  as  strong  and  as 
sweet  as  that  of  Peru,  and  very  abundant  in  juice." 

P.  82.    Letter  of  Mr.  Gabb  to  Mr.  J.  Ross  Browne, 


MANNA  201 

May,  1867:  "At  Santiago  there  are  extensive  planta- 
tions of  sugar  cane,  and  a  sugar  mill  was  in  active 
operation.  The  process  throughout  is  of  the  most  prim- 
itive kind,  but  the  result  is  a  very  palatable  sugar 
moulded  into  cakes  somewhat  like  maple  sugar,  and 
known  as  panoche."  "Sugar  industry  . . .  also  at  Todos 
Santos." 

P.  143  of  J.  Ross  Browne,  Sketch  and  Settlement  of 
Lower  California.  Report  of  Dr.  John  A.  Veatch  on 
Carros  or  Cedros  Island,  p.  152,  Soil  and  Productions, 
pine  trees. 

"The  two  interesting  species  of  Rhus  (R.  Lentiana 
and  R.  Veatchiana)  form  marked  features  in  the  island 
flora,  the  former  for  the  delicious  acid  exudation  of  its 
fruit."  .  .  . 

"A  beautiful,  yellow-flowered  agave  or  aloe  plant, 
about  12  feet  in  height,  with  a  stem  from  4  to  6  inches 
diameter  at  the  base,  branching  and  spreading  at  the 
top  and  terminating  in  a  profusion  of  golden  blossoms, 
was  tolerably  abundant.  The  flower  cups  were  filled 
with  a  fragrant,  sweet  liquor." 

The  same  book  of  J.  Ross  Browne  points  to  a  third 
source  of  information  on  Lower  California;  this,  how- 
ever, was  not  obtainable  in  the  original. 

P.  155,  Extracts  from  a  History  of  Old  or  Lower  Cali- 
fornia. A  posthumous  work  written  originally  in  Span- 
ish by  Padre  Franc.  Jav.  Clavijero,1  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus.  Translated  into  Italian,  Venice,  1789,  and  back 
again  into  Spanish  by  Nicolas  Garcia  de  San  Vicente 

i  Biography  of  Francis  Javier  Clavijero.  Taken  from  Bibliotheque  de  la  Com- 
pagnie  de  Jesus.  Tome  II.  Bruxelles  and  Paris,  1891,  p.  1210. 

Francisco  Javier  Clavijero,  born  in  Vera  Cruz,  on  the'Oth  of  September,  1731. 
Was  received  in  the  province  of  Mexico,  February  13th,  1748.  He  taught  rhetoric  in 
Mexico,  philosophy  at  Valladolid  and  at  Guadalaxara  in  New  Spain.  He  was  exiled  and 
deported  to  Italy,  and  died  at  Bologna,  April  2d,  1787. 

Historia  de  la  Antigua  a  Baya  California.  Obra  poethuma  del  padre  Francisco 
Javier  Clavijero  de  la  compania  de  Jesus. 


202  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

(Juan  R.  Navarro,  editor),  1852,  was  translated  into 
English  by  A.  G.  Randall,  Secretary  and  Translator 
of  the  Lower  California  Company's  Exploring  Expedi- 
tion, San  Francisco,  May,  1867. 

P.  164  of  J.  Ross  Browne's  Book,  loc.  at.,  says,  as 
bearing  on  our  subject: 

"In  some  parts  there  grows,  near  running  streams, 
reed  grass,  of  the  thickness  of  the  little  finger. 

"THIS  LITTLE  REED  IS  THE  ONLY  PLANT  IN  CALI- 
FORNIA IN  WHICH  MANNA  is  FOUND.  At  the  present 
time  there  are  large  growths  of  this  imported  from 
abroad." 

[NOTE. — Some  time  after  this  paper  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Professor  Fliickiger,  the  following  informa- 
tion was  found  in  the  Lloyd  Library,  and  a  copy  at 
once  forwarded  to  Prof.  Ed.  Schar,  Strasburg,  for  the 
purpose  of  supplementing  the  present  paper. 

From  the  U.  S.  Agricultural  Report  for  1870,  Food 
Products  of  the  North  American  Indians,  p.  423,  "Bent 
grass  (Arundo  Phragmitesy  (which  is  a  synonym  for 
Phragmites  communis,  Trin.). 

"This  species  of  reed,  which  grows  abundantly 
around  St.  Thomas,  in  southern  Utah,  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  produces  a  kind  of  white,  sweet  gum. 
The  Utah  Indians  cut  down  the  reeds  and  lay  them  in 
piles  on  blankets  or  hides,  and  let  them  remain  for  a 
short  time  to  wilt,  when  the  bundles  are  beaten  with 
rods  to  release  the  gum.  The  small  particles  so  de- 
tached are  pressed  into  balls  to  be  eaten  at  pleasure." 


MANNA  203 


SUMMARY 

Sugar  and  two  kinds  of  "manna"  are  described  in  Western 
literature. 

1st,  Sugar.  Sugar  was  derived  from  the  sugar  cane,  which 
was  introduced  into  Lower  California  at  least  one  hundred  years 
ago.  This  was  not  "manna." 

2d,  Father  Picolo's  Manna.  Father  Picolo  observed  a  sac- 
charine deposit  on  a  species  of  grass  that  he  called  reeds  (ros- 
eaux)  and  not  shrubs  (arbrisseaux)  as  Proust  recorded  the  word. 
Of  the  plants  likely  to  have  yielded  this  manna,  the  reed  grasses 
only  are  to  be  considered.  Of  the  reed  grasses,  Phragmites  com- 
munis  undoubtedly  answers  all  the  conditions  that  are  cited  by 
Father  Picolo.  This  manna  is  still  collected  by  the  Indians. 

3d,  Manna  of  the  Pinus.  This  is  yielded  by  Pinus  Lam- 
bertiana  of  Oregon,  and  is  cathartic  as  well  as  sweet,  but  no  evi- 
dence exists  to  indicate  that  Picolo  had  any  knowledge  of  its 
existence. 

Finally,  I  would  decide  that  without  question  Father  Picolo 
described,  as  he  saw  it,  the  saccharine  deposit  on  Phragmites 
communis,  which,  according  to  Watson,  is  caused  by  aphides.1 

REFERENCES  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  FATHER  PICOLO's  MANNA. 

(1)  PROUST,  Ann.  d.  Chimie,  57  (1806),  p.  145,  mentioning 
Father  Picolo  and  his  manna;  this  occurring  on  "arbrisseaux" 
shrubs. 

(2)  Bibliotheque  des  Ecrivains  de   la   Compagnie  de    Jesus, 
Liege  and  Lyon,  1872,  p.  1957.    Biography  of  Father  Picolo,  and 
mentioning  his  "Memoir." 

(3)  Lettres  edifiantes  et  curieuses,  ecrites  des  Missions  etran- 
geres,  in  47  volumes,  containing  the  letters  of  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries from  about  1650-1750.   Translated  from  the  Spanish,  Vol.  V, 

1  Probably  the  greater  part,  if  not  all,  of  the  manna  that  collects  on  the  green  leaves  of 
trees,  is  produced  by  certain  insects  (plant  lice  or  aphida).  These  insects  form  manna  as 
the  waste  product  of  digestion.  It  is  secreted  in  small,  transparent  globules,  which  give 
to  the  leaves  to  which  they  adhere  a  glabrous  appearance.  The  liquid  is  often  so  abun- 
dant as  to  rain  down  upon  the  sidewalks  underlying,  in  sufficient  quantity  as  to  adhere  to 
the  feet  of  pedestrians.  To  the  entomologist  this  manna  is  known  as  "honey-dew." 
Domestic  bees  eat  and  store  away  this  manna,  but  it  makes  an  inferior  quality  of  honey. 
Colonies  of  bees  whose  food  during  the  winter  is  honey-dew  honey  do  not  thrive,  and  are 
said  to  be  susceptible  to  "foul  brood".  Honey-dew  is  very  common,  on  a  great  variety 
of  trees.— J.  T.  Lloyd. 


204  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

p.  264.     Containing  the  memoir  of  Father  Picolo,  mentioned 
under  2  in  French,  manna  occurring  on  "roseaux"  reeds. 

(4)  W.  I.  KIP,  Historical  Scenes  from  the  old  Jesuit  Missions, 
New  York,  1875,  p.  50.     Containing  the  "memoir"  of  Father 
Picolo,  literally  translated  into  English. 

(5)  U.   S.   Dispensatory,   seventeenth   edition,   Philadelphia, 
1894,  p.  850.    On  American  False  Manna.    From  Pinus  Lamber- 
tiana,  Sugar  Pine.    Points  to  Reference  No.  6. 

(6)  WILKES,   Narrative  of  the   U.  S.   Exploring  Expedition, 
Philadelphia,  1850,  Vol.  V,  p.  232.    On  Pinus  Lambertiana.  The 
sugar  has  strongly  cathartic  p±  ^perties. 

(7)  JOHN  S.  NEWBERRY,  botanist  in  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Pacific 
R.  R.  Surveys  in  California  and  Oregon,  1855.    Botanical  Report, 
p.  42.     Describing  Pinus  Lambertiana  and  corroborating  state- 
ment in  Reference  No.  6. 

(8)  J.  G.  COOPER,  botanist  in  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Pacific  R.  R. 
Survey  Route  near  the  47th  and  48th  parallels,  explored  by 
I.  I.  Stevens,  1853-55.    Botanical  Report,  No.  1,  p.  28.    Mentions 
White  Maple,  Acer  macrophyllum,  as  containing  sugar  in  its  sap. 

(9)  ASA  GRAY  and  others.    Botany.    Manna  grass,  sweet  prin- 
ciple is  contained  in  the  grain. 

(10)  SERENO  WATSON,  botanist  in  charge  of  U.  S.  Geological 
Exploration  of  the  40th  parallel,  under  C.  King,  5th  Vol.,  Botany, 
p.  390.     On  Phragmites  communis.     Reed-sap  not  saccharine. 
Aphides  cause  sweet  secretions  on  its  leaves  and  those  of  cotton- 
wood  and  other  trees. 

(11)  DTTRAND  AND  HILGARD,  Pacific  R.  R.  Survey.    Botanical 
Report,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1855,  p.  15.     The  Indians  are  said 
(by  D.  and  H.)  to  extract  sugar  from  Phraytnites  communis. 
This  seems  to  be  contrary  to  the  statement  in  Reference  10. 

(12)  J.  Ross  BROWNE.    Resources  of  States  and  Territories  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  New  York,  1869,  (a)  with  an  appendix, 
p.  630,  on  Lower  California,  and  with  an  historical  addition,  (6)  A 
sketch  of  the  settlement  and  exploration  of  Lower  California,  by 
Alex.  S.  Taylor.     In  12   (a)  it  is  mentioned  that  sugar  cane 
abounds  in  Lower  California;  12  (b)  contains  further  references. 

(13)  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  9th  ed.    On  California,  also  on 
Lower  California,  points  to  Reference  No.  14. 

(14)  GABB  AND  LOEHR,  with  the  State  Geological  Survey  of 
California  in  1867.     The  original  was  not  accessible.     A  brief 
excerpt  is  contained  hi  Reference  12  (6),  p.  66. 

(15)  Report  of  JOHN  A.  VEATCH,  On  Garros  or  Cedros  Island. 
Original  not  accessible.    Brief  excerpt  is  to  be  found  in  Reference 
12  T&),  p.  152.     Mentions  an  "agave,"  which  contains  a  sweet 
liquid  in  its  flowering  cups. 


MASTICHE  205 

(16)  Extracts  from  a  History  of  Old  or  Lower  California.  A 
posthumous  work,  written  originally  in  Spanish  by  Padre  Franc. 
Javier  Clavijero,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Translated  into  Italian, 
Venice,  1789,  and  back  again  into  Spanish  by  Nicolas  Garcia  de 
San  Vicente  (Juan  R.  Navarro,  editor),  1852.  Was  translated 
into  English  by  A.  G.  Randall,  Secretary  and  Translator  of  the 
Lower  California  Company's  Exploring  Expedition,  San  Fran- 
cisco, May,  1867.  Original  not  accessible.  An  abstract  to  be 
found  in  12  (6),  p.  164.  It  states  that  there  is  a  reed  growing  in 
Lower  California  near  running  streams  that  yields  manna. 

MARRUBIUM  (Horehound) 

In  all  the  early  editions,  Marrubium  occupied  a  place  in  the 
Secondary  List,  not  being  promoted  to  the  Primary  List  until 
1860.  It  was  official  until  1900,  but  was  dropped  in  1910. 

Horehound,  Marrubium  vulgare,  is  indigenous  to 
Europe,  but  has  been  naturalized  in  America,  where  it 
is  now  very  common.  Its  use  as  a  bitter  decoction  led 
to  its  early  introduction  into  domestic  medicine,  as  well 
as  to  its  popular  use  as  a  bitter  flavor  in  candy.  Prob- 
ably the  well-known  "horehound  candy"  may  be  cited 
as  a  domestic  medicine  that  has  become  popular  as  a 
confection.  The  date  of  the  use  of  horehound  as  a 
sweetened  tea  must  have  been  very  early  in  the  records 
of  European  home  medication. 

MASTICHE    (Mastic) 

First  mentioned  in  U.  S.  P.  of  1860.  Remained  official  until 
(including)  1900.  Dropped  in  1910. 

Mastic,  Pistacia  Lentiscus,  is  an  evergreen  shrub, 
native  to  the  Mediterranean  shores,  from  Syria  to 
Spain,  being  found  also  on  the  adjacent  islands  as  far 
as  the  Canaries.  The  collection  of  mastic,  however,  is 
localized  to  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of  Scio, 
where  from  all  time  the  tree  has  been  known,  exuding 
most  abundantly  the  resinous  tar  that,  when  dried,  is 
known  as  mastic.  The  origin  of  its  use  is  lost  in  an- 


206  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

tiquity.  Theophrastus  (633),  4th  century  B.  C.,  men- 
tions it,  and  both  Dioscorides  (194)  and  Pliny  (514) 
refer  to  it  in  connection  with  the  island  of  Scio,  or  Chios. 
The  writer,  during  a  journey  to  the  Orient  in  1906, 
made  a  study  of  mastic,  his  description,  written  in 
Smyrna,  being  as  follows: 

HISTORY. — The  island  of  Scio,  or  Chio,  lies  in  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  about  six  hours  by  steamer  from 
Smyrna.  It  has  long  been  celebrated,  in  that  a  pocket 
of  the  northern  part  furnishes  the  world's  supply  of 
mastic  which  is  not  produced  by  the  adjacent  islands, 
notwithstanding  their  fertility,  and  their  favorable 
situation  as  concerns  exposure  and  climate.1  But  that 
the  tree  will  thrive  elsewhere,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
a  photograph  taken  by  the  writer,  of  a  mastic  tree  in 
the  garden  of  Mr.  Alfred  A.  Keun,  near  Smyrna,  ex- 
hibits the  tree  dripping  (May  6,  1906),  with  the  trans- 
parent, brilliant  tears.  In  the  island  of  Chio,  one 
district  is  called  Mastikohoria,  meaning,  "Village  Pro- 
ducing Gum  Mastic,"  and  from  this  district,  the  world 
is  supplied  with  its  mastic. 

Mastic,  like  other  Oriental  gums,  resins  and  balsams, 
has  been  known  from  antiquity,  Theophrastus,  (4th 
Century  B.  C.),  Dioscorides  and  Pliny  recording  it  as  a 
product  of  Chio.  It  was  formerly  of  great  importance, 
as  indicated  by  the  following  record.  (See  Pharmaco- 
graphia,  by  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury). 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  the  mastic  of  Scios  was  a  monop- 
oly of  the  Greek  Emperors.  The  successor  of  Andron- 
icus  II,  1304,  gave  the  mastic  concession  to  a  rich 
Genoese  named  Benedetto  Zaccarias,  whose  family 

1  The  circumscribed  areas  of  sections  producing  certain  drugs,  fruits  and  natural  products, 
is  noticeable  enough  to  warrant  a  special  paper  on  the  subject  of  such  limitations  in  the 
Orient. 


MASTICHE  207 

proceeded  to  rebel  against  the  Emperor,  becoming 
sovereigns  of  Scio.  Subdued  by  Andronicus  III,  the 
island  was  retaken,  1346,  by  the  Genoese,  a  company 
called  the  Giustianiani  being  formed  to  do  "mastic" 
and  other  business.  This  company  was  very  rich,  com- 
paring with  the  famous  East  India  Company,  having  its 
own  mint,  constitution  and  government,  and  even  engag- 
ing in  wars  with  the  Turks.  Severe  was  their  law  con- 
cerning mastic,  cruel  their  punishment  of  intruders  or 
offenders.  In  1566  the  Turks  captured  the  island,  which 
since  that  date  has  been  under  Moslem  rule.  The  trib- 
ute they  levied  on  the  inhabitants  was  that  the  ladies 
of  the  Sultan's  harem  should  be  supplied,  free  of  all  ex- 
pense, with  all  needed  supplies  of  the  choicest  mastic. 
On  account  of  its  mastic,  the  little  island  of  Chio  has, 
from  the  earliest  days,  been  a  center  of  Oriental  interest, 
but  owing  to  the  waning  importance  of  mastic  it  has  lost 
its  former  prestige,  though  it  is  still  famed  for  its  resin. 

DESCRIPTION. — The  mastic  tree  or  shrub  grows  to 
the  size  of  a  small,  scraggly  crab  tree,  but  is  more  bush- 
like.  Much  does  it  resemble  the  cratsegus  tree  of 
America.  Its  bark  and  small  limbs  carry  numerous 
ducts  that  are  prone  to  part  with  their  resinous  secre- 
tion. This,  as  it  exudes,  is  brilliant,  colorless,  water- 
white,  about  the  consistence  of  glycerin  or  honey,  ex- 
uding from  abrasions,  or  even  forcing  itself  through  the 
natural  bark,  dripping  therefrom  in  tears.  I  even 
observed  limbs  without  any  visible  abrasions,  yet  glis- 
tening with  tears.  The  slightest  abrasion  is  followed  by 
an  abundant  flow  of  gum. 

METHOD  OF  COLLECTION. — About  June  the  ground 
below  the  trees  is  cleaned  of  trash,  and  roughly  pre- 
pared to  catch  the  drip.  The  branches  are  then  lav- 


208  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

ishly  scarified  with  superficial  incisions.  The  resinous 
juice  immediately  begins  to  exude  and  drips  to  the 
earth,  where  it  gradually  hardens,  in  different  qualities 
as  concerns  cleanliness.  It  thus  becomes  a  conglom- 
erate of  isolated  tears,  agglutinated  fragments,  and 
masses  of  uneven  consistence,  the  quality  being  in- 
versely in  accordance  with  the  foreign  matter  present, 
such  as  fragments  of  bark,  leaves,  sand  and  dirt.  Since 
a  single  large  shrub  is  capable  of  producing  ten  to  twelve 
pounds,  and  the  resinous  tears  drop  in  profusion  beneath 
the  shrubs,  the  glitter  of  the  crystal  masses  on  the 
limbs,  in  the  sunshine,  is  very  pleasing. 

When  the  fallen  tears  are  dry,  or  hard  enough  to  be 
handled,  the  mastic  is  picked  up  by  means  of  tongs  or 
pincers,  put  into  baskets,  and  sold  to  local  dealers. 
It  is  then  called  "kilista"  (spelled  for  me  by  Mr.  Agop 
Alpiar,  of  Smyrna).  The  merchant  employs  girls  and 
women  to  separate  the  grades,  of  which  the  large, 
single,  'transparent  tears  are  "first."  This  quality  is 
largely  used  by  the  rich  Turkish  ladies,  who  chew  it  as 
a  breath  perfume.  The  irregular,  semi-opaque  masses 
constitute  the  second  quality,  whilst  the  mixture  of 
small  fragments,  of  all  consistencies,  makes  a  third, 
very  low  grade. 

Opalescence  or  dullness  of  mastic  globules  or  tears 
may  be  due  to  dust  on  the  surface,  to  adhering  impur- 
ities, or  to  scratched  or  abraded  surfaces.  In  order  to 
brighten  the  product,  the  hard,  dry  fragments  are 
placed  in  tanks  of  cold  water  and  hand-washed,  some- 
times with  a  preliminary  scrubbing  with  soap-suds. 
The  friction  between  the  fragments  removes  the  dust 
and  brightens  the  surface  to  a  glass-like  transparency. 
The  process  is  most  successful  in  cool,  dry  weather, 


MASTICHE  209 

October  and  the  winter  months  being  the  season 
selected. 

Steamers  touching  at  Ohio  are  boarded  by  men  with 
baskets  of  peculiarly  shaped  little  earthen  vases  filled 
with  fine  chewing  mastic,  which  they  sell  for  2^ 
piastres  each.  These  have  been  celebrated  from  time 
immemorial,  and  are  today  in  form  and  size  as  they 
were  hi  times  gone  by. 

Mastic  is  gathered  from  June  to  September,  the 
process  being  disturbed  if  there  be  excessive  rains.  No 
adulterations  of  the  drug  are  consummated  in  Turkey, 
but  since  mastic  is  offered  elsewhere  cheaper  than  it  is 
supplied  in  Smyrna,  where  the  product  of  Chio  nat- 
urally gravitates,  we  may  infer  that  manipulative 
processes  are  elsewhere  possible. 

COMMERCIAL  FEATURES. — As  before  stated,  mastic 
was  once  one  of  the  important  Oriental  products,  being 
prized  from  times  gone  by  by  the  ladies  in  the  rich 
Turkish  harems  as  a  breath  perfumer,  in  which  direction 
it  is  yet  employed  by  the  Turkish  people.  That  this 
use  is  not  illogical  from  a  sanitary  stand  is  shown  from 
the  fact  that  mastic  carries  a  decided  volatile  aromatic 
that  is  powerfully  antiseptic,  which  can  not  be  said  of 
all  "chewing  gums."  Possibly  the  nearest  American 
chewing  gum  that  in  this  sense  approaches  mastic,  is 
the  natural  spruce  gum  of  the  north,  or  the  "sweet 
gum"  of  the  middle  west  and  the  south,  both  of  which 
carry  breath-sweetening,  antiseptic  aromatics.  Mastic 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Turkish  bazaars  generally,  where 
it  is  displayed  hi  the  shops  in  separate  piles,  of  different 
qualities.  Choice  tears  are  often  sold  in  boxes  holding 
about  an  ounce.  The  price  was  formerly  as  high  as 
forty-five  dollars  per  kilogram,  but  it  is  now  about  two 


210  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

dollars,  while  the  second  and  third  qualities  range  from 
one  dollar  to  a  dollar  and  twenty  cents  per  kilogram. 
About  two  hundred  thousand  kilograms  are  produced 
each  year,  of  which  170,000  kilograms  are  exported. 
Owing  to  the  abundance  of  less  costly  resins,  its  field 
as  a  varnish  maker  is  much  restricted,  whilst  its  use  as 
a  constituent  of  pharmaceutical  preparations,  such  as 
ointments,  in  which  mastic  was  important  during  medi- 
aeval times,  is  now  practically  obsolete. 

RAKI,  RAKEE,  OB  "MASTIC." — This  is  a  popular, 
mastic-flavored,  alcoholic  cordial  liquor,  much  drunk 
by  the  non-Moslem  populations  of  some  parts  of  Tur- 
key, but  not  by  the  Mohammedans,  who  so  far  as  I 
could  determine,  use  no  alcoholics.  It  is  made  by  dis- 
tilling a  mixture  of  mastic  and  anise  with  strong  wine  or 
alcohol,  the  following  being  the  formula  of  Mr.  Agop 
Alpiar:  . 

Alcohol  35  per  cent 1,000     Cc. 

Aniseed  oil 2.5  Gm. 

Mastic 15     Gm. 

Potassium  carbonate 3     Gm. 

Mix  together  and  distill,  slowly  reserving  the  frac- 
tions, as  follows: 

No.  1 250  Cc. 

No.  2 350  Cc. 

No.  3 160  Cc. 

To  No.  2,  (350  Cc.),  add  10  Gm.  powdered  sugar. 
This  is  raki,  or  rakee,  the  drink  being  known  also  as 
mastic. 

After  this  process,  the  drink  is  subsequently  con- 
tinuously made  as  follows: 

Mix  No.  1,  (250  Cc.)  with  No.  3,  (160  Cc.),  and  add 
water,  90  Cc.;  alcohol  (35%)  500  Cc.;  aniseed  oil  1.25 
Gm.;  gum  mastic  7,5  Gm.;  and  potassium  carbonate 
3Gm, 


MASTICHE  211 

Distill  as  before,  the  second  portion,  (350  Cc.)>  con- 
stituting Raki.  The  process  may  be  thus  continued 
indefinitely,  the  second  fraction  of  distillate  being 
reserved  for  use. 

The  inferior  grades  of  mastic  are  utilized  in  making 
this  drink,  of  which  300,000  litres  are  estimated  as  the 
yearly  output. 

Raki,  or  "mastic,"  is  a  colorless,  transparent  liquid, 
of  a  pleasant,  aromatic,  anise-mastic  flavor.  The 
drinker  does  not  take  it  clear,  but  adds  to  it  about  one- 
third  its  bulk  of  water,  which  by  precipitation  of  the 
volatile  oils,  turns  the  mixture  milky.  This  drink  is 
used  in  moderation,  owing  to  its  strong  alcoholic  com- 
position, but  to  Americans  it  does  not  appeal,  reminding 
one  rather  of  paregoric,  than  of  a  grateful  cordial.  This 
drink  is  probably  of  great  antiquity,  and  known  to  the 
-Greeks  and  Romans. 

CONFECTION  OF  MASTIC. — A  much  prized  confec- 
tion of  mastic  is  prepared  by  making  a  syrup  of  sugar, 
and  when  reduced  by  boiling  to  a  very  thick  consist- 
ence, stirring  into  it  a  sufficient  amount  of  powdered 
mastic  to  flavor  it.  This  produces  a  stiff  confection  of  a 
pearly  white  color  that  I  was  informed  is  especially  a 
favorite  with  the  Greeks.  It  is  served  as  a  course  by 
itself,  with  a  cool  drink,  or  as  a  separate  course  of  sweet 
after  a  meal.  The  following  formula  was  given  me  by 
Mr.  Lymberis,  of  Smyrna: 

Confection  of  Mastic 

Sugar 3  Ibs. 

Water 2  pts. 

Citric  acid 1  dram. 

White  of  one  egg 

Mastic,  powdered1  ^  oz. 

1  Mastic,  like  camphor,  (to  which  a  few  drops  of  alcohol  needs  be  added),  can  not  be 
powdered  alone.  The  powdering  is  accomplished  by  mixing  with  the  hard,  small  tear  mastic, 
enough  sugar  to  prevent  its  agglutination  when  rubbed  in  a  mortar. 


212  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Dissolve  the  sugar  and  acid  in  the  water,  and  stir  in 
the  white  of  egg.  Boil,  skimming  occasionally,  until 
the  thick  syrup  will  retain  its  form  when  dropped  on  a 
piece  of  cold  marble,  or  when  a  small  amount  is  poured 
into  cold  water.  Remove  from  the  fire,  cool  in  a  capa- 
cious vessel,  and  then  stir  in  the  powdered  mastic.  In 
this  connection,  it  may  be  stated  that  an  item  of  great 
interest  to  me  was  the  numberless  forms  of  sweets  and 
cakes  consumed  by  Oriental  people. 

The  use  of  mastic  in  medicine  followed  its  empirical 
employment  as  a  breath  sweetener,  (for  which  purpose 
it  is  sold  in  all  Oriental  bazaars),  and  as  a  flavor  for 
cordials  and  other  drinks.  Perhaps  the  first  record  of 
its  authoritative  employment  in  medicine  is  about  the 
13th  century,  by  the  Welsh  "Meddygon  Myddfai," 
(507),  as  an  ingredient  of  ointments. 

MATICO  (Matico) 
Official  from  1860  to  1900.    Dropped  in  1910., 

Matico,  Piper  angustifolium,  is  a  shrub  native  to 
Bolivia,  Peru,  Brazil,  Venezuela,  and  other  South 
American  countries.  Its  qualities  are  said  to  have  been 
discovered  by  a  Spanish  soldier  named  Matico,  the 
legend  being  that  he  applied  some  of  the  leaves  to  a 
wound,  and  observed  that  the  bleeding  was  thereby 
stopped.  This  legend,  current  in  South  America,  gave 
to  the  shrub  the  name  soldier's  herb,  or  tree.  (See  Hy- 
oscyamus).  It  is  probable,  however,  that  its  native  use 
was  learned  from  the  Indians.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
19th  century  matico  came  to  the  profession  of  medicine 
in  North  America  and  in  Europe,  being  conspicuously 
introduced  by  Jeffreys  (340),  a  physician  of  Liverpool, 
who  commended  it,  1839,  as  a  styptic  and  astringent. 


MEL  213 

The  introduction  of  matico  must,  however,  be  con- 
sidered as  empirical,  through  the  infusion  of  the  leaves 
used  by  the  aforenamed  soldier. 

METRIC  ARIA   ; German  Chamomile) 

Introduced  in  1840,  but  in  this  and  the  following  edition  it 
occupied  a  place  in  the  Secondary  List.  It  was  promoted  to  the 
Primary  List  in  1860,  and  is  official  through  1910. 

Matricaria  Chamomilla,  German  chamomile,  is  the 
cultivated  form  of  Chrysanthemum  Parthenium,  culti- 
vated for  domestic  use,  in  which  it  is  distinguished  from 
the  Anthemis  nobilis,  or  Roman  chamomile.  It  has 
been  so  long  in  domestic  use  as  to  have  made  it  familiar 
to  all  German  housewives,  and  considerable  demand 
has  been  created  for  it  in  sections  of  America  where 
Germans  have  settled.  It  is  a  home  remedy  of  an- 
tiquity. Fliickiger  and  Hanbury,  (240),  give  careful 
studies  of  chamomile  and  its  botanical  equivalents, 
which  need  not  be  reproduced.1  Recently,  (1917),  the 
flowers  of  the  common  "dog  fennel"  have  appeared 
under  the  name  "German  Chamomile." 

MEL  (Honey) 

Official  in  each  edition  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Honey  is  a  saccharine  substance  collected  chiefly  by 
the  honey  bee,  Apis  mellifera,  from  the  nectariferous 
glands  of  flowers  and  deposited  in  the  comb  by  the  in- 
sect when  it  reaches  its  hive.  It  is  familiar  to  all  civil- 
ized peoples,  as  well  as  to  the  natives  of  many  sections 
of  the  world.  In  some  parts  of  the  tropics  wild  honey 
is  an  article  of  importance.  Crude  honey-comb  was 
observed  by  us  as  one  of  the  articles  of  export  from 

1  A  study  of  botanical  equivalents  of  all  plants  yielding  pharmacopeia!  drugs,  by  such  an 
authority  as  Professor  Henry  W.  Rusby,  is  of  exceeding,  importance.  A  study  of  drugs 
needs  this  more  than  I  can  say. — J.  U,  L. 


214  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Aden,  Arabia,  coming  thereto  by  caravan  from  the 
interior  of  Arabia,  as  well  as  across  the  Red  Sea  from 
Somali  Land,  Africa.  The  surprisingly  large  amounts 
of  bees'  wax  entering  Aden  (1906)  testified  to  the  lux- 
uriance of  the  flora  of  Somali  Land,  and  perhaps  to  the 
fertility  of  the  unexplored  valleys  of  Arabia  as  well. 
The  delicious  flavor  of  the  honey  of  Greece,  collected 
in  the  mountains,  has  never  been  paralleled  in  our  ex- 
perience. The  domestic  record  of  honey  is  lost  in  an- 
tiquity, it  being  mentioned  in  many  early  works,  includ- 
ing both  the  New  and  the  Old  Testaments,  and  in  such 
Oriental  works  as  the  Arabian  Nights.  (88).  In  the 
making  of  confectionery  and  in  domestic  empirical 
medicine,  honey  has  of  course  been  a  constant  and  a 
natural  sweetener.  Certain  kinds  of  honey,  such  as  that 
made  from  the  opium  poppy,  ("mad  honey"),  or  from 
the  flowers  of  the  wild  jasmine,  possess  more  or  less 
narcotic  action,  which  quality  has  never  yet  been  in- 
tentionally utilized  in  medicine.  To  a  Drug  Treatise, 
Opium  and  Its  Compounds,  (388c),  1908,  the  writer 
contributed  as  follows: 

"MAD  HONEY." — In  the  flowering  season  of  the 
opium  poppy,  bees  make  a  honey  possessed  of  narcotic 
qualities,  known  as  "Mad  Honey."  Partakers  of  it 
wander  aimlessly  about,  talk  incoherently,  and  appear 
crazy.  It  is  not  a  soporific,  seemingly  having  quite  dif- 
ferent qualities  from  morphine.  That  the  affection  is 
not  serious,  however,  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  in 
Harput,  Turkey,  Mrs.  Thomas  H.  Norton,  wife  of  the 
American  consul,  informed  me  that  when  she  inquired 
what  possessed  a  man  she  observed  under  its  influence, 
the  reply  was  that  he  was  "Honey  Mad." 

Such  compounds  as  honey  of  rose,  honey  of  borax 


MENTHA  VIRIDIS  215 

and  the  like,  came  from  the  domestic  use  of  honey. 
These  confections  long  preceded  the  use  of  honey  by 
licensed  physicians.  Burton,  in  his  edition  of  the  Ara- 
bian Nights,  says: 

"Zardah  (yellow  rice)  is  a  word  still  used  in  Turkey, 
and  refers  to  a  dish  of  rice  dressed  in  honey  and  saffron." 

MENTHA  PIPERITA  (Peppermint) 

Official  in  each  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Peppermint  (Mentha  piperitd)  is  found  throughout 
North  America  as  well  as  in  England  and  the  Conti- 
nent. As  described  by  Ray,  (536),  the  clergyman 
botanist,  in  his  Historia  Plantarum,  1704,  under  the 
title  "Mentha  palustris — Peper-Mint,"  it  is  recom- 
mended as  a  remedy  for  weakness  of  the  stomach  and 
for  diarrhea.  It  was  extensively  cultivated  in  some 
parts  of  England  as  early  as  1750,  the  herb  being  car- 
ried to  London  for  distillation  and  the  making  of  the 
oil.  Peppermint  is  a  favorite  domestic  herb  used  in 
decoction  as  a  stimulant  and  also  as  a  flavor.  Fresh 
mint  is  employed  to  flavor  a  popular  Kentucky  al- 
coholic beverage  made  of  whiskey,  known  as  mint 
julep.  This  should  be  made  by  inverting  (tops  down), 
in  the  sweetened,  diluted  whiskey,  a  small  bunch  of 
young  mint  sprouts,  thus  imparting  the  delicate 
aroma  of  the  leaves,  but  not  the  bitterness  of  the  broken 
stems. 

MENTHA  VIRIDIS  (Spearmint) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Spearmint,  Mentha  spicata,  (formerly  official  under 
the  botanical  name  of  Mentha  viridis)  is  common 
throughout  Europe,  Asia  and  North  America,  and,  es- 


216  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

caping  from  cultivation,  it  is  found  wild  throughout 
most  of  the  temperate  regions  of  the  world.  Parkinson, 
1640,  speaks  of  it  as  a  garden  plant  only,  (492),  and  its 
mention  in  early  medieval  lists  of  plants  demonstrates 
that  it  was  cultivated  in  the  convent  gardens  of  the  9th 
century.  Turner's  Herball,  (656),  1568,  calls  it  Spere 
Mynte.  Its  use  is  largely  that  of  a  domestic  and  popu- 
lar flavor  in  confectionery  and  as  a  perfume.  In  the 
form  of  an  aromatic  tea  it  has  been  a  great  favorite  in 
domestic  medicine,  as  is  true  also  of  its  harsher  rela- 
tive, peppermint,  the  name  "peppermint"  applying 
commonly  to  spearmint.  Like  its  relative,  spearmint 
frequents  moist  and  (preferably)  shady  bog  lands, 
growing  abundantly  wild  along  streams  in  woodland 
pastures  and  meadows  in  Kentucky  during  the  boy- 
hood of  the  writer. 

MEZEREUM   (Mezereum) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
U.  S.  P.,  1910,  directs  the  bark  of  Daphne  Mezereum,  Daphne 
Gnidium  or  of  Daphne  Laureola. 

Daphne  Mezereum  is  an  acrid  shrub  familiar  to  per- 
sons conversant  with  domestic  medicine  in  medieval 
English  times,  it  being  employed  by  the  herbalists  and 
also,  somewhat,  by  the  medical  profession  of  that  day. 
It  was  recognized  in  Culpeper  (175)  as  an  acrid  sub- 
stance, generally  applied  externally,  although  it  was 
given  internally  in  dropsy  and  some  other  affections, 
about  a  dram  of  the  dried  bark  of  the  tree  being  mixed 
with  three  parts  of  water,  and  taken  internally.  Hooper 
(325)  hi  his  Medical  Dictionary  states  that  a  prevailing 
method  of  preparation  was  to  macerate  thin  slices  of 
the  bark  of  the  fresh  root  in  vinegar  and  apply  it  ex- 
ternally. In  Stephenson  and  Churchill's  Medical  Bot- 


MOSCHUS  217 

any  (614a)  a  Mr.  Pierson  serves  as  authority  for  a 
Dr.  Russel,  who,  as  did  Mr.  Pierson,  reviewed  the  as- 
serted uses  of  the  drug  as  a  substitute  for  mercury  and 
as  an  application  in  scrofulous  and  cutaneous  affections, 
but  decided  in  opposition  to  its  use,  on  account  of  its 
exceeding  acridity.  A  refreshing  innovation  upon  for- 
mer primitive  processes  of  medication  was  this  thought 
for  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  the  patient.  This  im- 
ported, disagreeable  drug  crept  into  the  United  States 
Pharmacopeia  and  American  practice  through  tra- 
ditional European  authority,  and  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  a  constituent  of  the  once  popular  "Com- 
pound Syrup  of  Sarsaparilla,"  maintained  its  position 
in  medical  literature. 

MOSCHUS  (Musk) 
Official  in  all  editions,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Musk,  Moschus  moschiferus,  was  described  by  Ae'tius 
(6),  who  lived  about  the  middle  of  the  6th  century  A.  D. 
Benjamin  de  Tudela  (55a),  who  traveled  through  the 
East  about  1160-1173  A.  Q.,  also  mentions  musk, 
stating  that  its  native  home  is  in  Thibet.  Its  sale  in 
Egypt  is  mentioned  by  Leo  Africanus  (378b),  in  1526. 
The  introduction  of  musk  to  medicine,  however,  came 
at  a  much  earlier  period,  its  employment  in  that  direc- 
tion following  the  commendation  of  Ae'tius.  Its  thera- 
peutic use  was  due  to  its  introduction  from  the  Ara- 
bians. Ta vernier  (627),  1676,  asserted  by  Eugene 
Rimmel  (552)  to  be  the  first  European  traveler  to 
mention  this  drug,  reports  that  he  bought  7,673  pods 
of  the  musk-deer,  indicating  its  abundance  at  that  date. 
The  use  of  musk  as  a  perfume  antedates  European 
record,  whilst  there  is  no  data  concerning  its  intro- 


218  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

duction  as  a  stimulant.  This  writer  learned  early, 
during  his  services  in  prescription  pharmacies,  that 
when  tincture  of  musk  was  prescribed,  the  patient  was 
expected  to  die. 

MYRISTICA  (Nutmeg) 
Official  in  each  edition,  from  1820  to  1910. 

The  tree  yielding  nutmeg,  Myristica  fragrans,  is 
native  to  New  Guinea  and  islands  of  the  Malay  Archi- 
pelago, from  whence  it  has  been  introduced  to  Sumatra, 
Brazil,  the  West  Indies,  and  other  countries  favorable 
to  its  cultivation.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  nut- 
meg was  not  known  to  the  ancients,  but  von  Martius 
(409),  Flora  Brasiliensis,  1860,  contends  that  it  was 
mentioned  in  the  "Comedies"  of  Plautus,  about  two 
centuries  B.  C.  The  nutmeg  has  been  an  article  of 
import  and  export  from  Aden,  Arabia,  since  the  middle 
of  the  12th  century,  and  by  the  end  of  that  century 
both  nutmeg  and  mace  had  reached  Northern  Europe. 
Nutmeg  came  naturally  into  domestic  culinary  use, 
being  classed  with  mace,  cloves,  calamus,  etc.  It  nat- 
urally appealed  as  an  aromatic  in  cordials,  elixirs  and 
syrups  of  early  European  pharmacy,  and  is  yet  a  useful 
and  pleasant  constituent  of  many  domestic  compounds. 
Its  use  in  legalized  medicine,  also,  has  been  chiefly  in 
the  direction  of  a  flavor  to  other  substances,  and  fol- 
lowed in  its  application  similar  empirical  preparations. 

MACE. — In  connection  with  nutmeg,  attention  may 
be  properly  drawn  to  mace.  The  quaint  description 
found  in  Motherby's  (451b)  Medical  Dictionary,  1775, 
answers  our  purpose  as  well  as  would  a  more  modern 
article.  It  is  as  follows: 

"Mads.    (Mace.)    It  is  the  middle  bark  of  nutmegs. 


MYRRHA  219 

It  is  of  a  lively  red  colour  when  fresh,  but  grows  paler 
with  age.  It  envelops  the  shell  which  contains  the  nut- 
meg. It  is  dried  in  the  sun  upon  hurdles,  which  are 
fixed  one  over  another,  and  then  it  is  sprinkled  with  sea- 
water  to  prevent  its  crumbling  in  carriage.  It  hath  a 
pleasant  aromatic  smell,  and  a  Warm,  pungent,  bitterish 
taste.  Its  qualities  are  similar  to  that  of  nutmeg,  both 
as  the  subject  of  medicine  and  of  pharmacy.  The 
principal  difference  is,  that  mace  is  warmer,  more  bitter, 
less  unctuous,  and  sits  easier  on  weak  stomachs;  in  its 
yielding,  by  expression,  a  more  fluid  oil;  and,  in  distilla- 
tion with  water,  a  more  subtile  volatile  one." 

What  is  called  in  the  shops  expressed  oil  of  mace,  is 
pressed  from  nutmegs.  See  Nutmegs. 

MYRRHA   (Myrrh) 

Official  in  each  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  (including) 
1910.  The  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  directs  the  gum-resin  of  one  or  more 
species  of  Commiphora. 

Myrrh,  a  gum-resin  from  Commiphora  Myrrha,  has 
been  a  constituent  of  incense,  perfume,  and  such,  in 
ceremonial  religious  life,  as  well  as  an  article  employed 
by  the  common  people  from  the  days  of  the  most  re- 
mote antiquity.  It  was  one  of  the  rare  and  precious 
gum-resins  in  the  days  of  the  Bible,  being  mentioned  in 
connection  with  such  substances  as  frankincense  and 
olibanum.  That  it  was  highly  valued  in  the  days  of 
Solomon  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it  is  mentioned 
conspicuously  in  connection  with  the  gifts  brought  by 
the  Queen  of  Sheba  to  that  monarch.  It  is  yet  obtained 
from  Arabia,  the  present  writer  finding  it  in  the  bazaars 
of  old  Aden  and  bazaars  in  adjacent  Oasis  villages.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  the  term  "old 
Aden,"  a  city  that  had  an  existence  as  a  port  of  export 


220  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

for  Oriental  products  in  very  early  days,  refers  to  the 
Arabian  town,  situated  in  the  bowl  of  a  volcano.  It  is 
distant  several  miles  from  "new  Aden,"  (Adenport),  the 
village  seen  from  steamers.  Theophrastus  (633),  Pliny 
(514),  and  other  early  writers  mention  myrrh,  which 
from  all  times  has  been  valued  in  domestic  medicine 
for  its  aromatic  qualities.  It  is  also  a  constituent  of 
incense.  In  Herodotus  (314a),  (Macaulay,  Book  II, 
p.  153),  it  is  named  as  one  of  the  substances  used  by 
the  Egyptians  in  embalming  the  dead.  Let  us  quote: 

"First  with  a  crooked  iron  they  draw  out  the  brains 
through  the  nostrils,  extracting  it  partly  thus  and  partly 
by  pouring  in  drugs;  and  after  this  with  a  sharp  stone 
of  Ethiopia  they  make  a  cut  along  the  side  and  take 
out  the  whole  contents  of  the  belly,  and  when  they  have 
cleared  out  the  cavity  and  cleansed  it  with  palm-wine 
they  cleanse  it  again  with  spices  pounded  up;  then  they 
fill  the  belly  with  pure  myrrh  pounded  up  and  with 
cassia  and  other  spices  except  frankincense,  and  sew  it 
together  again." 

In  order  to  give  the  standing  of  myrrh  in  early  Euro- 
pean medicine,  as  well  as  to  illustrate  the  fact  that 
adulteration  is  not  a  modern  innovation,  we  quote  from 
Motherby's  Medical  Dictionary  (45 Ib),  1775: 

"Myrrha.  (Myrrh.)  It  is  also  called  stacte.  It  is  a 
gummy  resinous  concrete.  It  is  brought  immediately 
from  Alexandria,  Smyrna,  and  Aleppo;  but  from  what 
plant  it  is  obtained  is  uncertain.  It  is  brought  to  us  in 
globes  or  drops  of  various  colours  and  sizes.  Chuse 
such  as  is  of  a  reddish  brown  colour,  not  verging  too 
much  to  yellowish  or  blackish;  such  as  is  uniform  on 
the  outside,  internally  speckled  or  streaked  with  white, 


NUX  VOMICA  221 

clear  and  bright,  somewhat  unctuous  to  the  touch,  but 
not  tenacious  so  as  to  stick  to  the  fingers. 

"This  drug  is  subject  to  a  variety  of  frauds;  it  is 
mixed  with  hard  shining  yellow  pieces  of  a  gum  which 
resembles  gum  arabic,  and  is  void  of  smell  or  taste. 
Pieces  of  bdellium  are  mixed  with  it,  and  are  known  by 
their  darker  colour,  and  their  being  soft  within,  which 
myrrh  never  is,  also  by  their  different  smell  and  taste. 
Sometimes  an  unctuous  gummy  resin,  of  a  moderately 
strong,  somewhat  ungrateful  smell,  and  a  bitterish, 
very  durable  taste,  obviously  different  both  from  those 
of  bdellium  and  myrrh.  Also  pieces  of  a  hard,  compact, 
dark  colored  kind  of  tears,  less  unctuous  than  myrrh, 
of  an  offensive  smell,  a  most  ungrateful  bitterness,  and 
of  a  very  resinous  nature." 

NUX  VOMICA 

Official  in  each  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820,  following. 

This  drug  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree,  Strychnos  Nux-vomica, 
indigenous  to  most  parts  of  India,  especially  the  coast 
districts,  and  is  thought  to  have  been  introduced  into 
medicine  by  the  Arabians.  The  natives  of  India  did 
not,  however,  value  it,  probably  because  of  its  exceed- 
ingly energetic  nature.  Although  the  Hindoos  of  the 
present  tune  employ  it  extensively,  it  is  probable  that 
they  were  not  acquainted  with  it  before  its  introduc- 
tion into  Germany,  in  the  16th  century.  Its  Euro- 
pean employment  was  originally  as  a  drug-shop  poison, 
for  the  purpose  of  killing  animals  and  destructive 
birds,  such  as  crows;  it  was  not  until  after  the  days 
of  Parkinson  (492),  1640,  that  its  employment  in 
medicine  began.  As  usual  in  those  days,  enormous 


222  PHARAfACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

doses  of  drugs  were  administered,  and  the  fatal  effects 
of  nux  vomica  "were  soon  recorded.  Lewis'  Materia 
Medica,  1761,  (382),  discourses  as  follows: 

Nux  VOMICA. — Pharm.  Paris.  Nux  Metella.  Vomic 
Nui.:  a  flat  roundish  seed  or  kernel,  about  an  inch 
broad  and  near  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  of  a  grey 
colour,  covered  with  a  kind  of  wooly  matter,  internally 
hard  and  tough  like  horn.  It  is  the  product  of  a  large 
tree  growing  in  the  East  Indies,  called  by  Plukenet 
cucurbitifera  malabariensis,  cenoplice  foliis  rotundis, 
frudu  orbiculari  rubro  cujus  grana  sunt  nuces  vomicce 
officinarum. 

This  seed  discovers  to  the  taste  a  considerable  bit- 
terness, but  makes  little  or  no  impression  on  the  organs 
of  smell.  It  has  been  recommended  in  tertian  and 
quartan  fevers,  in  virulent  gonorrhoeas,  and  as  an 
alexipharmac :  Fallopius  relates,  that  "it  was  given  with 
success  in  the  plague;  that  in  doses  of  from  a  scruple 
to  hah*  a  dram,  it  procured  a  plentiful  sweat;  and  that 
where  this  evacuation  happened,  the  patient  recovered. 
At  present  it  is  looked  upon,  and  not  without  good 
foundation,  as  a  deleterious  drug;  which,  though  like 
many  other  deleterious  substances,  capable,  in  certain 
doses  and  in  certain  circumstances,  of  producing  happy 
effects,  has  its  salutary  and  pernicious  operations  so 
nearly  and  so  indeterminably  allied,  that  common  pru- 
dence forbids  its  being  ventured  upon.  Hoffman  tells 
us  of  a  girl  of  ten  years  of  age,  to  whom  fifteen  grains, 
given  in  two  doses,  for  the  cure  of  an  obstinate  quartan, 
proved  mortal." 

As  an  exceptional  authority  concerning  the  neglect 
of  nux  vomica  by  early  Indian  observers,  let  us  quote 
from  Dymock: 


NUX  VOMICA  223 

No  mention  of  nux  vomica  can  be  found  in  the  older 
Sanskrit  medical  works.  A  drug  called  Vishamushti, 
mentioned  by  Sarangadhara,  has  by  some  been  sup- 
posed to  be  nux  vomica,  but  according  to  the  Bhava- 
prakasha,  Vishamushti  has  an  edible  fruit,  and  is 
called  Karerna  in  Hindi.  The  latter  work  gives  Kupilu 
and  Kulaka  as  Sanskrit  names  for  Kuchila,  but  these 
names  are  generally  referred  to  a  kind  of  ebony.  An- 
other Sanskrit  name  given  to  the  drug  in  recently 
compiled  works  is  Kurachilla,  an  incorrect  form  of 
Kuruchilla,  "a  crab,"  to  which  animal  the  seeds  bear 
some  resemblance  in  shape.  We  think  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  nux  vomica  was  not  used  medicinally 
by  the  ancient  Hindus,  but  the  Hindi  name  Kuchila  or 
Kuchula  occurs  in  ancient  Persian,  and  appears  to  be 
derived  from  the  Sanskrit  kunch,  to  make  crooked. 
We  also  find  an  unidentified  plant  called  Kuchela, 
mentioned  by  Sanskrit  writers,  with  the  synonyms  of 
Avi-karni  and  Viddha-parni;  the  name  Kunchaphala 
is  also  met  with,  but  it  may  possibly  be  only  an  in- 
correct rendering  of  Kucha-phala,  a  term  for  the  pome- 
granate. We  can  hardly  suppose  that  a  plant  having 
such  marked  poisonous  properties  can  have  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  India,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  wood  has  been  in  use  from  a  very 
early  date  as  one  of  the  kinds  of  Mushadi  in  Southern 
and  Western  India.  We  also  find  that  in  the  Indian 
Archipelago,  which  was  colonized  at  a  very  early  date 
by  the  Hindus,  the  wood  is  used  as  a  popular  remedy 
for  dysentery,  fevers  and  dyspepsia,  under  the  name  of 
Bidara-laut  by  the  Malays.  This  name  appears  to  be 
of  Sanskrit  origin  and  to  be  derived  from  Vidara,  "split- 
ting or  rending,"  and  lata,  "a  tree  or  shrub,"  in  allusion 


224  PHARMACOPEIA!.  DRUGS 

to  the  tetanic  spasms  produced  by  over-doses  of  the 
drug. — Dymock,  Pharmacographia  Indica,  v.  2,  p.  459. 

OPIUM 

Official  in  all  editions,  from  1820  to  1910.  The  U.  S.  P.,  1910, 
makes  official  the  product  of  Papaver  somni/erum  and  its  variety 
album. 

The  discovery  of  the  medical  qualities  of  opium  is 
lost  in  times  gone  by.  Theophrastus  (633),  3rd  century 
B.  C.,  mentions  it.  The  poppy  producing  opium  is 
from  prehistoric  times,  native  to  Asia  Minor  and  Cen- 
tral Asia.  The  early  use  of  the  decoction  of  the  poppy 
head,  as  well  as  the  early  use  of  opium,  the  product  of 
the  poppy,  Papaver  somniferum,  antedates  profes- 
sional medication,  creeping  into  home  use  as  well  as 
professional  use  at  a  very  early  period.  The  Welsh 
physicians  of  the  17th  century  used  a  wine  of  poppy 
heads  to  produce  sleep,  and  prepared  pills  from  the 
juice  of  the  poppy.  Syrup  of  poppy  was  given  a  posi- 
tion in  the  first  Pharmacopeia  of  the  London  College, 
1618.  Dioscorides  (194)  distinguishes  between  the 
juice  of  the  poppy  capsule  and  an  extract  from  the 
entire  plant.  Inasmuch  as  he  describes  how  the  cap- 
sule should  be  incised  and  the  juice  collected,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  he  plainly  refers  to  opium.  Pliny  (514)  also 
devotes  considerable  space  to  this  drug.  Celsus  (136) 
in  the  1st  century  mentions  it,  and  during  the  period  of 
the  Roman  Empire  it  was  known  as  a  product  of  Asia 
Minor.  It  is  supposed  that  the  prohibition  of  wine  by 
Mohammed  led  to  the  spreading  of  the  use  of  opium  in 
some  parts  of  Asia,  the  drug  being  then  an  import 
from  Aden  or  Cambay.  The  Mohammedans  intro- 
duced opium  into  India,  it  being  first  mentioned  as  a 
product  of  that  country  by  Barbosa  (39),  who  visited 


OPIUM  225 

Calicut  in  1511,  its  port  of  export  being  then  Aden  or 
Cambay.  The  German  traveler  Kampfer  (349),  who 
visited  Persia  in  1685,  described  the  various  kinds  of 
opium  then  produced,  stating  that  it  was  customary  to 
mix  the  drug  with  various  aromatics,  such  as  nutmeg, 
cardamon,  cinnamon,  mace,  and  even  with  ambergris. 
It  was  also  sometimes  colored  red  with  cannabis  indica, 
and  was  sometimes  mixed  with  the  strongly  narcotic 
seeds  of  stramonium.  One  of  the  studies  made  in  the 
Orient  by  the  writer,  (1906),  was  of  opium.  A  brief 
resume  is  as  follows: 

ORIGIN. — Wherever  the  opium  poppy  grows,  opium 
of  some  degree  of  value  is  possible.  But  climate,  soil, 
value  of  land  and  price  of  labor,  limit  its  area  and  con- 
trol its  profitable  production  by  the  tedious  methods 
now  employed.  Opium  has  been  an  important  crop  in 
Asia  Minor,  Persia,  India,  China,  and  triflingly  so  in 
Egypt.  In  Europe  and  North  America  attempts  to 
produce  it  failed,  partly  because  of  climatic  conditions, 
but  mainly  by  reason  of  labor  expense.  Now  as  in  the 
past,  its  home  is  in  the  land  known  as  Asia  Minor,  the 
principal  port  of  export  being  Smyrna.  Hence,  in 
making  our  study  of  the  drug,  we  sought  this  city,  and 
in  its  vicinity  made  our  research. 

THE  OPIUM  POPPY. — Everywhere  about  Smyrna,  in 
the  months  of  April  and  May,  a  beautiful,  scarlet, 
single  poppy  prevails  as  a  weed.  It  accompanies  all 
crops,  blooms  along  the  roadside,  and  seeds  itself  year 
by  year.  This  very  conspicuous  variety  of  poppy  is  also 
abundant  throughout  adjacent  countries,  being  found 
in  Greece,  Italy,  and  the  Mediterranean  Islands  gen- 
erally. This,  however,  is  not  the  opium  poppy,  although 
accepted  as  such  by  many  travelers.  No  opium  poppy 


226  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

is  found  wild  in  these  sections,  nor  is  it  cultivated  in  less 
than  five  hours  by  rail  from  Smyrna.  No  opium  is 
produced  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Smyrna. 

The  opium  poppy,  Papaver  somniferum,  blooms  in 
April  and  May.  Its  color  varies  from  a  light  pink  to  a 
purplish  pink.  The  specimen  in  full  bloom  photo- 
graphed by  me  May  3,  1906,  measured  five  inches  in 
diameter,  and  was  of  a  pronounced,  narcotic  odor. 
This  is  a  typical  poppy  blossom,  grown  in  its  home 
land.  The  capsule,  at  this  stage,  is  half  an  inch  in 
diameter. 

CULTIVATION. — The  soil  that  profitably  produces 
opium  is  a  somewhat  silicious  clay.  The  preferable 
locations  are  rich,  valley  lands,  plains  not  too  wet,  and 
the  foot-slopes  of  the  mountains.  The  plant  thrives  at 
various  altitudes,  even  high  mountain  table-lands  and 
mountain  valleys  proving  admirably  suited  to  its 
growth. 

The  soil  is  roughly  ploughed  in  the  early  fall,  and  it 
is  essential  that  it  be  abundantly  enriched  with  barn- 
yard manure.  In  October,  if  it  be  possible  at  that  time 
to  get  the  ground  in  condition,  the  seed  are  sown  broad- 
cast over  the  well-smoothed  field.  Before  sowing,  the 
seed  are  mixed  with  sand,  as  is  the  method  with  grass 
and  other  small  seed.  About  thirteen  ounces  of  seed 
are  allowed  to  the  acre.  The  seeds  are  taken  from  the 
poppy  capsules  of  the  previous  year,  and  range  in  color 
from  bluish  to  yellow  and  white,  the  bluish  color  being 
preferred. 

Germination  results  in  accordance  with  the  altitude 
and  the  moisture  of  the  season.  In  about  thirty  days 
the  plants  are  an  inch  high.  November  to  December, 
snow  falls  in  the  opium  section,  covering  the  plants. 


OPIUM  227 

Should  the  snow  now  melt  and  a  freeze  succeed,  the 
crop  is  ruined.  Early  frosts,  preceding  snow,  are  also 
very  injurious,  because  the  poppy  plant,  when  young,  is 
very  delicate.  If  the  snow  falls  early  and  remains  all 
winter,  the  plants  reach  perfection.  Thus  an  ideal 
opium  climate  is  such  as  best  fits  the  wheat  crops. 

In  the  spring,  after  the  snow  melts  and  the  plants 
have  attained  a  growth  of  about  six  inches  in  height, 
the  fields  are  thoroughly  weeded,  the  poppy  plants 
being  thinned  until  they  stand  about  two  feet  apart. 
When  they  are  evenly  distributed  over  the  field  in  such 
condition,  the  crop  is  most  promising.  However,  should 
the  winter  frosts  have  "winter  killed"  the  crop  in 
patches,  the  thin  parts  are  replowed,  and  spring-sown. 
If  the  crop  be  injured  as  a  whole,  the  entire  field  is  re- 
plowed  and  spring-planted,  or  a  new  location  for  the 
crop  is  selected.  This  replanting  takes  place  from 
January  to  March,  according  to  locality.  Spring  sow- 
ing is  deprecated,  both  by  reason  of  the  extra  labor,  and 
because  the  resultant  opium  is  of  inferior  quality,  and 
the  yield  less  in  amount.  Opium  culture  demands  that 
ground  which  has  produced  an  opium  crop  for  four  or 
five  successive  years  be  given  a  rest  of  at  least  one  year. 

THE  CROP. — The  poppy  blossoms  in  April  and  May. 
The  capsule  matures  from  June  to  July,  in  accordance 
with  locality  and  season.  The  elevated,  interior  dis- 
tricts are  latest  in  maturing,  but  they  yield  the  best 
opium,  that  from  the  damp  or  wet  lowlands  being  the 
poorest.  When  the  plant  attains  a  height  of  four  to 
five  feet  and  the  capsules  begin  to  turn  successively 
from  bluish-green  to  yellowish  or  slightly  golden,  they 
soften  to  the  touch.  This  is  the  critical  period  in  the 
life  of  this  exacting  crop,  for  at  this  time  neglect,  of 

16 


228  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

even  four  hours,  is  sufficient  materially  to  decrease  the 
returns.  Now  the  patience  of  the  Turks,  most  patient 
of  all  people,  is  taxed  to  the  utmost.  The  entire  popu- 
lation, men,  women,  boys  and  girls,  turn  to  the  harvest. 

Carefully  the  workers  pass  through  the  fields,  and 
with  a  knife  that  bears  a  fine  saw-edge  they  artfully 
incise  the  ripening  heads,  making  their  incision  around 
the  circumference  of  the  capsule,  encircling  it  to  within 
half  an  inch  of  the  starting  point.  About  Harput,  and 
perhaps  in  other  districts,  the  natives  employ  a  knife 
having  three  parallel  blades,  with  which  they  cut  several 
short,  diagonal  gashes,  just  above  the  belly  of  the  cap- 
sule. The  incising  is  a  very  delicate  operation,  re- 
quiring both  care  and  expertness,  for  should  the  knife 
pierce  into  the  interior  of  the  poppy  capsule,  the  exuding 
juice  seeps  inward,  and  is  lost.  The  aim  is  to  pierce 
only  the  pericarp,  that  carries  the  lactiferous  cells. 

When  the  climate  is  fair,  the  location  elevated,  the 
wind  from  the  north  and  cool,  and  the  soil  dry,  the  in- 
cisions are  made  after  sunset,  the  exuding  juice  being 
gathered  early  the  next  morning.  But  should  there  be 
either  dew  or  rain,  there  is  no  yield  whatever. 

On  low  ground  where  dew  prevails,  the  incisions  are 
made  early  in  the  morning,  the  "tears"  of  opium  gum 
being  scraped  from  the  capsule  that  day,  from  eleven 
o'clock  to  sunset. 

IMPLEMENTS. — The  blade  of  the  incising  knife  is 
about  two  inches  long,  one  edge  being  straight,  with 
small,  saw-teeth,  the  other  being  egg-shaped,  sharp  and 
pointed.  This  knife  is  called  Dgeezguee  (pronounced 
geez-gee).  The  saw-edge  of  the  knife  is  used  to  incise 
the  capsule,  the  opposite  edge  to  scrape  from  the  cap- 
sule the  exuded  gum.  As  this  accumulates,  the  natives 


OPIUM  229 

from  time  to  time  transfer  it  to  a  wooden  tray  about 
six  inches  long  and  one  inch  deep,  the  transfer  being 
assisted  by  means  of  a  small  steel  blade  inserted  for 
the  scraping  purpose  into  the  part  of  the  tray  nearest 
the  handle.  This  tray  is  called  an  Alguee. 

THE  GUM. — The  freshly-scraped  gummy  exudate 
(opium  "tears"),  is  of  a  soft,  pillular  consistence,  aver- 
aging from  forty  to  forty-five  per  cent  moisture.  The 
crop  of  "tears,"  as  it  accumulates,  is  transferred  from 
the  Alguee  to  an  earthen  vessel  or  tray,  but  is  sometimes 
dumped  on  the  sand  or  earth,  where  it  is  kneaded  by 
the  hands  to  a  uniform  consistence,  after  which  it  is 
made  into  balls  of  various  sizes.  These  balls  are  en- 
closed in  a  dress  of  poppy  leaves,  placed  on  trays,  and 
slowly  cured  in  the  shade,  in  a  cool  location.  When 
they  have  reached  the  proper  consistence  the  balls, 
familiar  as  the  opium  of  commerce,  are  packed  in  bas- 
kets, an  abundance  of  mixed  dried  seeds  and  leaves  of 
wild  rumex  being  used  to  keep  them  apart,  and  to  ab- 
sorb moisture.  The  opium  in  these  baskets  averages 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty 
pounds.  The  baskets  are  of  wicker,  of  uniform  size  and 
shape,  about  three  feet  deep  and  one  and  one-half  feet 
in  diameter.  They  are  nearly  cylindrical  and  are  lined 
with  linen. 

To  make  the  opium  crop  even  a  possible  success,  the 
very  richest  land  is  necessary,  and  it  must  be  enriched 
by  constant  manuring.  The  climate  must  be  nearly 
rainless  in  the  summer,  and  yet,  throughout  a  neces- 
sarily mild  winter,  snow  must  continually  blanket  the 
earth.  The  agriculturist  must  be  ever  watchful,  ever 
patient,  and  must  expect  disappointments,  even  total 
loss  at  the  last  moment.  Unfavorable  drouths  in  the 


230  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

spring,  destructive  insects,  winter  freezes  or  harmful 
rain  during  the  collecting  season,  may  result  in  great 
loss  or  total  failure.  There  must  be  an  abundance  of 
labor  procurable  at  the  critical  period,  at  from  thirty  to 
fifty  cents  per  day  of  fourteen  hours.  All  these  con- 
ditions favor  the  Turkish  opium  section.  No  other 
people  can  be  more  frugal,  more  patient,  more  resigned 
to  adversity,  or  more  ready,  when  failure  comes,  to 
begin  over  again  than  are  the  Turks.  (This  passage  was 
written  hi  1908,  long  before  the  outbreak  of  the  world's 
war.  But  the  same  national  characteristics  are  no 
doubt  theirs,  now  as  then.) 

Under  favorable  conditions  as  concerns  climate  and 
care,  an  acre  of  good  soil  will  yield  from  twenty-five  to 
forty-five  pounds  of  opium.  It  is  calculated  that  to 
produce  this  requires  21,000  poppy  plants,  averaging 
six  capsules  each.  (This  data  is  from  the  book  of 
Mr.  Agop  Alpiar,  Chemist  of  A.  Keun  and  Co.,  Smyrna, 
who  made  the  calculation  in  the  field.)  In  addition  to 
the  opium,  about  1,000  pounds  of  poppy  seeds  are  ob- 
tained, capable  of  producing  400  pounds  of  oil,  valued 
at  five  to  eleven  cents  per  pound.  This  oil  is  an  impor- 
tant article  of  food  with  the  frugal  agricultural  classes 
of  the  interior,  beyond  the  zone  that  produces  the  olive 
tree,  which  does  not  thrive  farther  than  fifty  miles  from 
the  sea.  The  tune  of  collection  lasts,  in  Turkey  in  Asia, 
for  two  and  one-half  months,  although  but  a  few  days 
for  harvesting  are  possible  in  any  one  location.  The 
industrious  peasant,  in  the  harvest  period,  working  from 
daylight  to  dark,  earns  from  fifteen  to  forty-five  cents 
daily.  If  the  crop  be  a  success,  the  land-owner  reaps 
a  moderate  return  for  a  whole  year's  care  and  labor 
devoted  to  the  most  exacting  of  all  crops,  not  excepting 


OPIUM  231 

tobacco.  If  the  crop  be  a  failure,  and  it  may  at  the  last 
moment  become  nearly  a  total  loss  by  rain,  or  by  frost 
in  the  fall  or  spring,  the  patient  Turk  says,  "Inshallah 
Kissmet  yarren  guelir" — "With  the  will  of  God,  good 
luck  may  come  tomorrow." 

CHARACTERISTICS. — Fresh,  prime  Smyrna  opium  has 
a  soft  consistence,  and  in  color  is  dark  yellowish,  or 
brown.  It  breaks  with  a  tough  pull  and  an  uneven 
fracture.  The  crust  is  much  darker  than  the  central 
part,  and  much  drier.  The  structure  of  the  ordinary 
quality  is  not  smooth,  owing  to  the  presence  of  foreign 
substances,  such  as  the  scrapings  of  the  capsule  and 
gum  of  unequal  consistence.  The  odor  of  prime  opium 
is  strongly  and  (to  me)  pleasantly  narcotic,  unmarked 
by  any  fruity  flavor.  The  taste  is  bitter  and  peculiar. 
The  morphine  value  of  prime  selected  Smyrna  opium 
averages  (Alpiar)  from  ten  per  cent  to  thirteen  and 
one-half  per  cent. 

ADULTERATIONS. — In  former  years,  before  opium  was 
valued  by  morphine  percentage,  some  of  the  natives  or 
dealers  were  given  to  profitable  sophistication  by  the 
use  of  extraneous  substances  that  increased  the  weight 
of  the  product,  without  disturbing  the  odor,  the  color  or 
consistence.  This  habit  lingers  somewhat  yet,  although 
the  growers  and  manipulators  are  fast  learning  that 
sophistication  processes  involve  them  in  financial  loss. 
About  ten  per  cent  of  the  opium  that  enters  Smyrna 
was,  in  1906,  more  or  less  adulterated,  the  low  grades 
running  from  three  per  cent  to  six  per  cent  morphine. 
Among  the  sophisticants  may  be  named  salep,  sand, 
crushed  raisins,  apricot  pulp,  prunes,  yolk  of  egg,  ex- 
cessive scrapings  from  the  poppy  capsules,  shot  or  lead, 
iron,  flour,  extract  of  poppy  heads,  gum  arabic,  yellow 


232  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

beeswax  and  powdered  cumin  seed.  This  last  is  very 
likely  to  deceive,  by  its  color.  The  sand  may  naturally 
contaminate  the  gum,  if  the  opium  be  spread  on  the 
ground  during  its  collection.  Nor  is  the  presence  of 
sand  a  sure  indication  of  inferiority.  The  sand  in  our 
museum  specimen,  weighing  ten  ounces,  came  from  only 
twenty-three  pounds  of  choice,  high-grade  opium, 
assayed  by  Mr.  Alpiar. 

Formerly  opium  came  from  the  interior  of  Turkey 
by  camel  caravan,  but  some  years  ago  a  railway  was 
built  that  extends  into  the  poppy  region.  The  producer 
sells  the  crude  opium,  when  cured,  to  commission  mer- 
chants, who  in  turn  supply  the  exporter  as  fast  as  a 
sufficient  amount  is  accumulated. 

INSPECTING. — The  inspector  must  be  a  man  of  expe- 
rience, and  may  be  one  of  a  line  of  family  experts.  For 
example,  Mr.  Jacob  Gabbai,  who  for  thirty-six  years 
(1906)  had  filled  the  place  of  inspector,  with  an  average 
of  3,500  baskets  yearly,  was  the  grandson  of  a  profes- 
sional inspector,  and  was  assisted  by  his  brother  and  his 
son.  The  broken  opium  knife  in  our  museum  was  his 
grandfather's,  and  had  been  used  in  opium  testing  for 
more  than  thirty  years.  The  inspector  sits  cross-legged 
on  a  mat  on  the  floor.  The  purchaser  and  the  seller 
having  agreed  to  abide  by  his  decision,  the  opium  bas- 
kets are  successively  dumped  before  him.  Rapidly  he. 
cuts  a  deep  circular  cone  from  each  ball,  inspecting  the 
interior  by  both  sight  and  smell,  rejecting  those  he  con- 
siders inferior  or  adulterated.  From  some  baskets  most 
of  the  opium  is  condemned;  from  others,  a  few  balls 
only  are  rejected.  During  the  time  I  witnessed  one  of 
the  inspections,  the  seller  protested  but  once  against 


OPIUM  233 

the  decision.  But- the  inspector  refused  to  reconsider, 
stating  that  the  ball  was  adulterated  with  prunes. 

In  some  cases,  when  opium  comes  rapidly  to  market, 
several  inspectors  work  simultaneously.  It  is  remark- 
able how  quickly  and  expertly  they  handle  a  basket  of 
180  pounds;  how,  with  a  single  gash,  these  men,  through 
the  senses  of  sight  and  smell  alone,  prejudge  a  ball  that, 
to  an  inexperienced  person,  presents  no  fault.  The 
inspector  is  paid  one-half  of  one  per  cent  the  value  of 
the  opium  he  handles. 

Mr.  Alpiar  states  that  invariably  the  rejected  opium 
runs  down  to  six  or  even  four  per  cent  morphine.  This, 
considering  the  remarkable  rapidity  of  the  inspector's 
work,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  the  expertness  of  empirical 
experience  only,  was  to  me  inexplicable.  In  no  other 
direction  have  I  been  confronted  with  the  scientific 
result  that  comes  by  the  empirical  perfection  of  experi- 
ence and  the  education  of  the  senses. 

ASSAYING.1 — The  accepted  balls  pass  immediately 
into  the  hands  of  the  purchaser,  who  now  cuts  each 
lump  into  halves,  and  from  the  interior2  of  each  takes  a 
piece  about  the  size  of  an  English  walnut.  One  hundred 
baskets  furnish  about  one  hundred  pounds  of  these 
samples,  which  are  at  once  weighed  and  thoroughly 
incorporated  into  a  uniform  mass,  in  a  tightly  closed 
kneading  machine,  which  prevents  any  evaporation  of 
moisture.  One  hundred  grammes  are  then  immediately 

1  Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Ass'n.,  1893,  pp.  169-177,  contributes  a 
paper  on  "Commercial  Varieties  of  Ophun,"  historical,  descriptive  and  analytical.  The 
assay  results  and  process  (pp.  175-177)  are  given  in  detail,  the  morphine  content  of  seven 
natural  named  gums  ranging  from  10.53  per  cent  to  15.13  per  cent.  Our  province  being  that 
of  crude  drug  history,  the  reader  can  only  be  referred  to  the  interesting  chemical  details  and 
assay  results. 

*  Dr.  Squibb  took  his  samples  from  the  crust  inward,  sampling  every  fifth  ball,  if  large; 
every  tenth  ball,  if  small.  In  Smyrna,  every  ball  is  inspected. 


234  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

assayed  to  crystalline  white  morphine.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  firm  of  Alfred  A.  Keun  &  Co.,  (1906),  have  a 
complete  laboratory,  well  equipped  with  the  most  mod- 
ern apparatus,  including  stills,  vacuum  apparatus, 
machinery  and  delicate  glassware  and  reagents.  Their 
chemist,  Mr.  Agop  Alpiar,  had  at  that  time  been  en- 
gaged in  this  special  work  for  fifteen  years,  and  aside 
from  his  great  personal  experience  his  aim  has  been  to 
keep  abreast  of  the  world's  literature  on  opium  and 
alkaloidal  assay  methods,  by  means  of  a  voluminous 
special  library.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  of  interest 
to  state  that  he  obtains  1.80  per  cent  more  of  white, 
crystalline  morphine,  than  the  assay  process  indicated 
by  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia.  This,  Mr.  Alpiar  considers, 
is  due  mostly  to  loss  in  the  mother-liquors,  where  such 
small  amounts  as  the  U.  S.  P.  directs,  are  employed. 
Such  variations  in  assay  by  means  of  quantity  influence 
is  not  exceptional,  when  assay  processes  employing 
minute  portions  are  contrasted  with  successively  con- 
nected batches  on  a  manufacturing  scale.  It  thus 
becomes  possible  to  utilize,  profitably,  mother-liquors 
that,  on  a  small  scale,  are  necessarily  thrown  away. 
PACKING  THE  OPIUM  FOR  EXPORT. — In  order  to 
prevent  mould,  fermentation  and  subsequent  struc- 
tural changes  that  are  liable  to  occur  in  the  moist  drug 
on  protracted  sea  voyages  and  in  storage  for  morphine 
makers,  the  drug  is  allowed  to  lose  its  excess  of  mois- 
ture before  being  packed  in  tin-lined  cases,  each  holding 
from  130  to  170  pounds.  This  does  not  apply  to  com- 
mercial opium  for  general  use  (written  in  1908),  al- 
though it  is  likely  that  the  crude  drug  will  soon  pass 
from  pharmacy. 


PAREIRA  235 

PAREIRA  (Pareira) 

Introduced  into  U.  S.  P.  in  1840,  in  Secondary  List.  It 
held  this  place  in  1850,  and  then  became  official  until  it  was 
dropped,  in  1910. 

Pareira  brava,  Chondrodendron  tomentosum,  is  a 
climbing  shrub,  native  to  Peru  and  Brazil  and  adjacent 
sections  of  South  America.  The  Portuguese  mission- 
aries of  the  17th  century  who  visited  Brazil  learned  of 
its  reputed  qualities  from  the  natives,  who  under  the 
name  abutua  or  butua  valued  it  highly  for  its  thera- 
peutic virtues.  The  Portuguese  gave  it  the  name 
Pareira  brava,  or  Wild  Vine,  with  reference  to  its  mode  of 
growth.  Its  reputed  medical  qualities,  learned  from  the 
natives,  were  made  conspicuous  by  Michel  Amelot, 
ambassador  of  Louis  XIV  to  Lisbon,  who  found  it  in 
that  city  and  carried  it  with  him  to  Paris.  The  botanist 
Pomet  (519),  1694,  described  the  plant  in  his  History 
of  Drugs,  Paris.  Lewis  (382)  in  his  Materia  Medica, 
1761,  gives  to  pareira  considerable  space,  citing  its 
qualities  and  history  as  follows: 

"This  root  is  extolled  by  the  Brazilians  and  Portu- 
guese in  a  variety  of  diseases,  particularly  in  suppres- 
sions of  urine  and  in  nephritic  and  calculous  complaints. 
Geoffrey  is  of  opinion,  that  its  virtue  consists  in  dis- 
solving and  attenuating  tenacious  juices;  and  reports, 
that  in  sundry  disorders  arising  from  their  viscidity,  it 
was  found  remarkably  beneficial;  that  in  nephritic 
pains  and  suppressions  of  urine,  he  has  often  given  it 
with  happy  succes  :  that  he  has  sometimes  seen  the 
patient  freed  from  pain  almost  in  an  instant,  and  a 
plentiful  discharge  of  urine  brought  on  that  in  ulcers  of 
the  kidneys  and  bladder,  where  the  urine  was  mucous 
and  purulent  and  could  scarcely  be  voided  or  not  with- 


236  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

out  great  uneasiness,  the  symptoms  were  soon  relieved 
by  pareira,  and  the  ulcer  at  length  healed  by  joining  to 
it  balsam  of  copaiba." 

After  an  eventful  botanical  record  embracing  con- 
siderable discussion  as  well  as  confusion  with  some  other 
drugs,  during  which  pareira  brava  enjoyed  professional 
conspicuity  in  Europe,  it  dropped  from  general  use, 
the  extravagant  pretensions  long  made  for  it  being"  now 
practically  forgotten. 

PEPO  (Pumpkin  Seed) 

Introduced  in  1860.  Official  in  all  later  editions,  including 
that  of  1910. 

The  seed  of  the  pumpkin,  Cucurbita  Pepo,  in  the  form 
of  an  infusion  as  well  as  in  a  pulpy  mass,  has  been  long  a 
favorite  home  remedy  for  intestinal  parasites,  a  use 
that  introduced  it  to  the  medical  profession.  But  al- 
though physicians  have  used  pumpkin  seed  somewhat 
in  this  direction,  they  as  a  rule  now  prefer  other  reme- 
dial agents,  santonin  being  employed  for  round  worms, 
and  pomegranate  bark  for  tape  worms.  Many  years 
ago  this  writer  endeavored  to  identify  the  active  prin- 
ciple of  pumpkin  seed,  but  met  discouraging  results. 
It  was  demonstrated  that  an  infusion  or  decoction 
devoid  of  fat  and  fibers  was  inert.  The  action  is  seem- 
ingly either  mechanical,  (like  that  of  powdered  tin),  or 
the  processes  he  employed  to  discover  a  soluble  agent 
were  faulty. 

PHYSOSTIGMA  (Calabar  Bean,  Ordeal  Bean) 

First  mentioned  in  U.  S.  P.  in  1870.  Official  in  all  later 
editions,  through  1910. 

The  plant  that  yields  Calabar  bean,  Physostigma 
venenosum,  is  a  woody  African  vine,  described  by  Bal- 


PHYSOSTIGMA  237 

four  in  1860.  It  belongs  to  the  great  natural  order 
Leguminosae,  tribe  Phaseolese.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that 
these  poisonous  seeds  are  so  closely  related,  botanically, 
to  the  ordinary  edible  bean  of  our  gardens,  that  the 
structural  difference  resides  mainly  in  the  stigma. 
The  genus  at  present  (1897)  consists  of  three  species, 
Physostigma  venenosum,  Balf;  Physostigma  cylindro- 
sperma,  Holmes,  and  a  recently  described  species,  Phy- 
sostigma mesoponticum,  Taubert,  all  from  tropical 
Africa.  Physostigma  venenosum  is  one  of  the  numerous 
woody  climbers  that  inhabit  the  tropical  forests  of 
Africa,  sometimes  reaching  the  length  of  fifty  feet,  with 
a  stem  two  inches  in  diameter.  The  leaves  are  pinnately 
trifoliate,  and  in  size  and  shape  very  closely  approxi- 
mate the  leaves  of  the  common  "Lima  bean"  of  our 
gardens.  The  fruit  is  a  thick  brown  pod,  each  con- 
taining two  or  three  large  seeds  familiar  to  us  as  "Cala- 
bar beans." 

HISTORY. — The  Calabar  or  ordeal  bean  seems  to  be 
confined  in  its  habitat  to  a  limited  area  only,  around  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  and  particularly  about  the  mouth  of  the 
old  Calabar  River,  hence  its  common  name.  The  first 
report  we  have  from  that  region  concerning  the  use  of 
this  seed  as  an  ordeal  poison  is  by  Dr.  W.  F.  Daniell, 
who  in  1846  ("Natives  of  Old  Calibar,"  Edirib.  New 
Philos.  Journ.,  1846,  p.  316),  states  that  among  the 
natives,  "persons  suspected  of  a  crime  are  forced  to 
swallow  a  deadly  poison  made  from  the  seeds  of  an 
aquatic  leguminous  plant  which  rapidly  destroys  life." 
The  seed  is  called  esere  by  the  natives,  which  accounts 
for  one  of  the  alkaloids  of  this  bean  being  named  eserine. 
We  are  informed  that  the  Calabar  bean  as  an  ordeal  is 
administered  in  various  quantities.  Less  than  half  a 


238  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

bean  is  sufficient  to  destroy  life  if  retained  on  the  stom- 
ach, while,  on  the  other  hand,  numbers  of  them  may 
(exceptionally),  be  eaten  without  fatal  effects,  if  they 
quickly  produce  vomiting  and  purging  (Pharm.  Jour., 
1864-5,  p.  99).  In  the  native  ordeal  test,  if  the  culprit 
vomit  the  nut,  he  is  pronounced  innocent  and  liberated; 
if  it  has  a  purging  effect  without  killing  him,  he  is  con- 
sidered guilty  and  sold  into  slavery.  If  he  dies,  which 
as  a  rule  occurs,  this  is  taken  as  being  in  consequence  of 
his  guilt.  On  the  authority  of  Rev.  Mr.  Waddell,  a 
missionary  at  Old  Calabar,  Dr.  Christison  states  that 
the  general  confidence  of  the  African  in  the  infallibility 
of  the  Calabar  ordeal  test  is  so  great,  that  innocent  per- 
sons accused  of  a  crime  often  demand  to  be  subjected 
to  it,  and  thus  pay  the  penalty  of  their  blind  super- 
stition. (Pharm.  Journ.,  1855,  p.  470.)  It  is  intimated 
(Pharm.  Journ.,  1877,  p.  641),  that  the  officials  charged 
with  administering  the  poison  know  how  to  select  the 
less  potent  seeds  when  they  desire  to  show  favoritism. 
It  is  also  stated  that  the  test  is  often  resorted  to  as  a 
means  of  gratifying  private  revenge,  and  its  use,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  African  missionaries,  is  a  great  moral 
evil  on  that  account  alone. 

Prior  to  1860  attempts  to  classify  the  ordeal  seed 
botanically  had  been  of  no  avail,  because  it  was  almost 
impossible  for  any  European  to  obtain  possession  of 
specimens.  According  to  Mr.  Waddell,  the  plant  at 
that  time  was  everywhere  destroyed  by  order  of  the 
native  king,  who  exercised  a  complete  monopoly  over 
the  few  that  were  preserved  to  conserve  the  demands 
of  justice.  (Hanbury,  D,  Science  Papers,  1876,  p.  312. 
See  also  Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1863,  p.  316). 

However,  in  1855,  Mr.  Waddell  secured  a  few  speci- 


PHYSOSTIGMA  239 

mens  of  the  seed,  which  he  sent  to  Dr.  Christison,  at 
whose  suggestion  they  were  planted  in  the  Edinburgh 
Botanical  Garden  by  Professor  Balfour;  but  although 
they  attained  a  vigorous  growth,  they  failed  to  produce 
flowers,  and  thus  it  was  impossible  properly  to  classify 
the  plant.  It  was  not  until  1859  that  the  Rev.  W.  C. 
Thomson,  a  good  botanical  observer  of  Old  Calabar, 
finally  secured  flowering  specimens  of  the  plant,  which 
were  preserved  in  alcohol  and  sent  to  Professor  Balfour 
for  the  purpose  of  identification.  The  first  account  of 
the  plant  under  its  proper  name  was  then  given  by 
Balfour  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Edinburgh,  January,  1860. 

The  Calabar  bean,  however,  is  not  the  only  native 
poison  that  had  been  used  as  an  ordeal  among  the 
blacks  in  Africa.  The  custom  of  subjecting  persons 
accused  of  witchcraft,  murder  or  other  crimes,  to  the 
ordeal  of  swallowing  poisonous  vegetable  infusions  has 
unquestionably  prevailed  among  African  tribes  from 
the  west  to  the  east  coast.  In  the  eastern  regions  the 
Cubera  tanghin,  or  tanghin  poison-nut,  of  Madagascar, 
(Tanghinin  venenata)  has  been  employed,  while  on  the 
western  coast  there  has  been  in  use,  besides  the  Calabar 
bean,  the  bark  of  a  certain  tree  which  has  been  differ- 
ently named  by  different  observers.  This  bark  has 
become  conspicuous  as  the  "redwater  ordeal"  in  use 
by  the  negroes  of  Sierra  Leone.  The  interesting  account 
of  the  ordeal  trial  given  by  Dr.  Winterbottom  as  early 
as  1803  was  extensively  quoted  by  Professor  Wm. 
Proctor  in  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1852, 
p.  195. 

"Redwater  Poison"  was  obtained  from  the  bark  of  a 
leguminous  tree,  Erythrophlceum  guineense,  Don,  which 


240  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

is  identical  with  Fillcea  suaveolens,  a  tree  occurring  in 
Senegambia,  and  described  and  named  by  Guillemin 
and  Perrotet  (Index  Kewensis,  Vol.  II,  p.  897) .  Finally, 
the  much  discussed  "sassy  bark,"  used  under  the  name 
of  casca  or  casca  bark,  as  an  ordeal  poison  among  the 
natives  on  the  banks  of  the  Congo  River,  has  also  been 
shown  to  be  identical  with  Erythrophlceum  guineense, 
Don,  (Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1857,  p.  114).  It  will  thus 
be  seen  that  Physostigma  is  but  one  of  several  ordeal 
poisons. 

PHYTOLACCA  (Phytolacca,  Poke  Root) 

Phytolacca  Root  is  mentioned  in  the  Primary  List  of  the  first 
edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  in  1820  (2d  edition,  1828),  Phytolacca 
Berries  being  relegated  to  the  Secondary  List.  Both  the  root  and 
the  berries  were  official  in  the  New  York  edition  of  1830,  but  in 
the  Philadelphia  edition,  1830,  both  were  demoted  to  the  Second- 
ary List,  a  position  they  occupied  in  all  succeeding  Pharmcif 
copeias  until  1880,  when  they  were  wholly  official,  so  remaining 
until  1910,  when  both  were  dropped. 

"Poke  Root,"  Phytolacca  decandra,  is  a  handsome 
plant  found  throughout  the  temperate  regions  of  North 
America  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  thriving  in  rich 
bottom  lands,  fence  corners  and  woody  pastures.  The 
American  Indians  used  it,  pounded  to  a  pulp,  as  a  poul- 
tice. The  early  American  settlers  applied  it  in  like 
manner  as  a  poultice  to  inflammatory  conditions  of 
the  cow's  udder,  in  the  disease  known  as  garget,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  has  given  to  the  plant  one  of  its 
common  names,  Garget  Plant.  Phytolacca  crept  thence 
into  more  extensive  use  in  domestic  medicine,  a  tincture 
of  the  plant  being  next  employed.  Following  this  came 
its  introduction  into  professional  practice.  In  Eclec- 
ticism it  has  ever  been  a  valued  remedy.  To  cite 
American  Materia  Medica  references  to  phytolacca 


PHYTOLACCA  241 

would  be  to  name  the  publications  of  all  the  represent- 
ative authors  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century  con- 
nected with  American  medicine.  The  first  edition, 
1852,  of  the  American  Dispensatory  (356)  is  the  best 
published  authority  for  the  use  of  phytolacca  at  that 
date.  Let  us  quote  from  this: 

"PROPERTIES  AND  USES. — Emetic,  cathartic,  alter- 
ative, antiherpetic,  and  somewhat  narcotic.  The  leaves 
are  somewhat  purgative,  and  are  used,  in  some  parts  of 
the  country,  as  a  dressing  to  ulcers.  A  strong  decoction 
of  the  leaves  is  of  much  benefit  in  hemorrhoids;  injected 
into  the  rectum  two  or  three  times  a  day,  and  a  fomen- 
tation of  the  leaves  applied  to  the  part,  it  will  almost 
always  give  relief,  and  eventually  effect  a  cure.  Three 
or  four  drachms  of  the  decoction  may  also  be  taken 
internally.  Should  it  produce  any  narcotic  effects, 
oniit  its  use  for  a  day  or  two,  and  commence  again 
with  smaller  doses.  The  root  excites  the  whole  glan- 
dular system,  and  has  been  highly  extolled  in  syphilitic, 
scrofulous,  rheumatic,  and  cutaneous  diseases.  The 
extract  of  the  root  is  an  excellent  remedy  for  the  re- 
moval of  those  severe  pains  attending  mercurio-syphi- 
litic  affections,  (osteocopus).  Roasted  in  hot  ashes 
until  soft,  and  then  mashed  and  applied  as  a  poultice, 
the  root  is  unrivalled  in  felons  and  tumors  of  various 
kinds.  It  discusses  them  rapidly,  or,  if  too  far  ad- 
vanced, hastens  their  suppuration.  A  saturated  tinc- 
ture of  the  berries  has  been  successfully  employed  in 
chronic  rheumatism.  It  is  also  recommended  in  the 
same  diseases  as  the  root.  Dose  of  the  powdered  root, 
as  an  alterative,  one  to  five  grains;  of  the  tincture,  one 
drachm,  three  or  four  times  a  day;  as  an  emetic,  twenty 
to  thirty  grains  of  the  powder." 


242  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Buchan's  Every  Man  His  Own  Doctor,  1816,  indicates 
that  phytolacca  was  then  in  high  repute  as  a  domestic 
remedy.  From  this  we  extract  as  follows  (110) : 

"The  young  stems  of  phytolacca,  when  boiled,  are  as 
good  as  asparagus,  but  when  old  they  are  to  be  used 
with  caution,  being  a  plant  of  great  activity,  operating 
both  as  an  emetic  and  cathartic.  A  tincture  of  the  ripe 
berries  in  brandy  or  wine,  is  a  popular  remedy  for  rheu- 
matism and  similar  affections;  and  it  may  be  given  with 
safety  and  advantage  in  all  cases  where  guaiacum  is 
proper.  The  extract  of  the  juice  of  the  ripe  berries  has' 
been  employed  in  some  cases  of  scrofula;  and  cancerous 
ulcers  have  been  greatly  benefited  by  its  application. 
The  juice  of  the  leaves,  however,  is  said  to  be  more 
effectual." 

The  amount  of  potassium  nitrate  in  phytolacca 
root  is  exceptionally  great.  This  may  crystallize 
from  alchoholic  tincture  in  quantities.  Possibly  this 
fact  accounts  for  the  superiority  of  fresh  root  prepara- 
tions in  which  natural  water-sap  serves  as  a  diluent. 
In  this  connection  we  might  refer  to  the  fact  that  the 
Writer  of  this  historical  review  of  drugs  does  not  con- 
fine his  opinion  of  therapeutic  values  to  laboratory 
products  and  educts  that  are  of  an  exclusively  "organic" 
origin.  Just  what  form  many  of  the  so-called  "inor- 
ganic" materials  take  in  natural  plant  structures  is  a 
question.  See  the  author's  contributions  to  the  Eclec- 
tic Medical  Journal,  Cincinnati,  on  various  phases 
of  "the  inorganic  side  of  organic  life." 


PILOCARPUS  243 

PILOCARPUS  (Pilocarpus,  Jaborandi) 

Official  from  1880  to  1910.  Not  mentioned  in  U.  S.  P.  in 
editions  earlier  than  1880.  The  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  makes  official 
the  leaves  of  Pilocarpus  Jaborandi,  (Pernambuco  Jaborandi  of 
commerce)  or  of  Pilocarpus  microphyllus  (Maranham  Jaborandi). 

Pilocarpus  Jaborandi  is  a  shrub  native  to  Eastern 
Brazil,  where  Piso  (511)  of  Holland,  1643,  first  men- 
tions its  use  as  a  modifier  of  the  infusion  of  ipecac. 
Plumier,  1693,  (515),  also  refers  to  the  mixture,  de- 
scribing therein  two  varieties  of  Jaborandi.  About 
1854,  Lemaire  described  Pilocarpus  pennatifolius,  then 
of  botanical  interest  only.  Its  conspicuous  introduction 
to  medicine  occurred  in  1874,  when  Dr.  Coutinho  (170), 
of  Pernambuco,  from  observing  its  native  uses,  made 
its  qualities  as  a  sialagogue  known  to  the  medical  world. 
The  name  Jaborandi  is  given  in  South  America  to  a 
number  of  shrubs  belonging  to  the  Rutacece  and  Pipera- 
cece,  the  leaves  of  many  of  which  are  exported  under  the 
common  term,  "Jaborandi."  In  our  opinion,  the  name 
"Jaborandi"  should  be  either  abandoned  hi  medicine, 
or  confined  exclusively  to  the  dried  leaflets  of  the  official 
species,  Pilocarpus  microphyllus,  Stapf,  and  Pilocarpus 
Jaborandi,  Hohnes,  which  alone  are  recognized  in  the 
Pharmacopeias  of  1900  and  1910. 

In  commerce,  many  meaningless  terms  are  affixed  to 
the  drug,  such  as  Pernambuco  Jaborandi,  Paraguay 
Jaborandi,  Maranham  or  Small  Jaborandi,  Ceari  Jab- 
orandi, Aracati  Jaborandi,  Rio  Janeiro  Jaborandi,  all 
relating  to  either  the  country  where  the  drug  is  grown, 
the  part  of  South  America  from  which  it  is  exported, 
or  the  common  name  applied  by  the  people.  It  may  be 
confidently  stated  that  unless  one  is  versed  in  botany 
and  pharmacology,  and  indeed  is  experienced  in  the 
special  field  of  the  drug  known  as  "Jaborandi,"  he  may 


244  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

expect  to  meet  with  gross  imposition  if  he  ventures  to 
purchase  the  crude  drug  under  any  of  these  titles,  or  by 
the  common  name,  "Jaborandi."  Nor  is  this  necessa- 
rily due  to  intent  of  either  importer  or  jobber,  for  in 
general  each  dealer  in  this  foreign  drug  is  helpless  in 
the  face  of  conditions  that  lie  entirely  beyond  his  con- 
trol, such  as  collectors  at  a  distance.  In  our  opinion, 
the  best  American  authority  on  "Jaborandi"  problems 
from  the  botanical  side,  is  Professor  H.  H.  Rusby, 
M.  D.,  of  the  Columbia  University,  New  York.  His 
paper  on  "The  Pilocarpus  Leaves  of  Commerce,"  pre- 
sented to  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association  in 
1903,  and  republished  in  the  Bulletin  of  Pharmacy, 
October,  1903,  is  invaluable.  We  have  consulted  this/ 
freely  in  our  study  of  pilocarpus.  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes, 
the  best  European  authority,  (see  also  Index  Kewensis), 
states1  that  the  following  species  and  varieties  were 
known  under  the  name  of  Jaborandi  as  early  as  1895. 
Since  that  date,  two  other  species  have  been  added 
(Rusby). 

Leaves  Simple          Leaves  Compound,  Imparipinnate 
Pilocarpus  spicatus,  Pilocarpus  goudutianus, 

subcoriaceus,  "  heterophyllus, 


longiracemosus, 

pauciflorus, 

latifolius, 

guaianensis, 

humboldtii, 


trachylophus, 

pennatifolius, 

selloanus, 

Jaborandi, 

microphyllus, 


racemosus,  grandiflorus, 

riedelianus,  macrocarpus. 

giganteus. 

Numerous  researches  on  the  chemistry  of  this  drug 
have  been  made.    "The  Alkaloidal  Value  of  Jaborandi 

'  British  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,   1895. 


PIMENTA  ,        245 

Leaves"  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  contributed  by 
Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme  to  the  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  1895.  (Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Ass'n.,  1895, 
pp.  266-268).  His  conclusions  were  to  the  effect  that 
the  alkaloidal  deterioration  of  the  leaves  as  contrasted 
with  the  drug  in  the  past  was  due  to  poor  quality  and 
not  to  substitution.  The  paper  must  be  studied  as  a 
whole  for  details.  But  we  must  not  further  encroach 
on  the  duties  of  Dr.  Waldbott  and  Prof.  Heyroth,  in 
whose  field  rests  the  history  and  record  of  the  pharma- 
copceial  drug  constituents. 

PIMENTA    (Pimenta,  Allspice) 

Official  in  all  editions  excepting  New  York,  1830  and  1910, 
in  which  the  product  is  limited  to  the  oil.  In  the  early  editions, 
1820-1828,  1830,  the  berries  are  named.  From  1840  to  1870,  the 
"unripe  fruit,"  while  later  editions  give  "the  nearly  ripe  fruit," 
the  part  to  be  employed. 

Allspice,  Pimenta  officinalis,  is  the  berry  of  a  tree 
native  to  Jamaica  and  other  West  India  islands,  where 
it  was  found  in  use  as  a  spice  by  the  explorers  in  the 
days  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the  new  world's  discovery. 
It  was  probably  this  substance  that  Garret,  a  druggist 
of  London,  1601,  gave  to  Clusius  (153),  who  described 
it  in  his  Liber  Exoticorum.  According  to  Parkinson's 
(492)  Theatrum  Botanicum,  1567,  it  was  imported  into 
England  soon  after  the  beginning  of  that  century, 
under  the  name  Round  Cardamon.  It  has  received  many 
different  names  in  its  passage  through  various  countries, 
Lewis'  Materia  Medica,  1761,  defining  it  as  follows  (382) : 

"Piper  Jamaicense,  Pharm.  Lond.  Piper  jamaicense 
sive  pimenta,  Pharm.  Edirib.  Amomum,  Pharm  Wirten- 
berg.  JAMAICA  PEPPER,  PIMENTO,  ALL-SPICE:  the  dried 
aromatic  berry  of  a  large  tree  growing  in  the  moun- 


246  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

tainous  parts  of  Jamaica,  reckoned  a  species  of  myrtle, 
and  called  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane  myrtus  arborea  aromatica 
foliis  lauriniis,  by  Linnseus  myrtus  foliis  alternis. 

"This  spice,  at  first  brought  over  for  dietetic  uses,  has 
been  long  employed  in  the  shops  as  a  succedaneum  to 
the  more  costly  oriental  aromatics:  from  them  it  was 
introduced  into  our  hospitals,  and  is  now  received  both 
in  the  London  and  Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeias." 

The  chief  use  of  pimenta  is  as  a  spice,  but  a  distilled 
water  made  therefrom  has  also  been  employed. 

PIPER  (Pepper,  Black  Pepper) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Black  pepper,  Piper  nigrum,  is  a  perennial,  climbing 
shrub,  native  to  the  forests  of  Malabar  and  Travan- 
core,  whence  it  was  introduced  to  other  tropical  coun- 
tries, such  as  Sumatra,  the  Philippines,  West  Indies, 
and  the  Malay  Peninsula.  It  has  been  used  as  a  spice 
and  as  a  stomachic  remedy  by  the  natives  of -these  and 
other  countries  since  the  date  of  the  discovery  of  the 
remedy,  and  probably  from  all  time  preceding.  Pepper 
was  mentioned  by  Theophrastus  (633),  who  described 
two  kinds.  Dioscorides  (194)  and  Pliny  (514)  both 
give  it  a  place  in  their  writings.  As  early  as  64  A.  D. 
pepper  was  mentioned  as  occurring  on  the  Malabar 
Coast.  The  Romans  at  Alexandria,  A.  D.  176,  levied 
on  it  a  duty.  The  Arabian  authors  of  the  12th  and 
14th  centuries  described  it  fairly.  In  the  European 
countries  in  the  Middle  Ages,  pepper  was  considered 
the  most  important  of  all  spices,  being  the  foundation 
of  much  of  the  wealth  of  Venice  and  Genoa  during 
their  greatest  commercial  activity.  It  has  been  used 
as  a  medium  of  exchange  when  money  was  scarce,  and 


PIPER  247 

when  Rome  was  besieged  by  the  Goths  the  ransom 
included  three  thousand  pounds  of  pepper.  In  fact, 
the  value  placed  upon  pepper  in  the  records  of  the  past 
is  in  itself  an  indication  of  its  importance  to  the  people 
who  used  it.  We  transcribe  verbatim,  in  part,  the 
exceptionally  interesting  history  of  piper  given  in  Dy- 
mock's  Pharmacographia  Indica,  pp.  167-8,  as  follows: 

"Cosmas  Indicopleustes,  a  merchant,  and  in  later  life 
a  monk,  who  wrote  about  A.  D.  540,  appears  to  have 
visited  the  Malabar  Coast,  or  at  all  events  had  some 
information  about  the  pepper-plant  from  an  eye- 
witness. It  is  he  who  furnishes  the  first  particulars 
about  it,  stating  that  it  is  a  climbing  plant,  sticking 
close  to  high  trees,  like  a  vine.  Its  native  country  he 
calls  Male.  The  Arabian  authors  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
as  Ibn  Khurdadbah  (about  A.  D.  869-885),  Edrisi  in 
the  middle  of  the  12th,  and  Ibn  Batuta  in  the  14th  cen- 
tury, furnished  nearly  similar  accounts. 

"Among  Europeans  who  described  the  pepper-plant 
with  some  exactness,  one  of  the  first  was  Benjamin  of 
Tudela,  who  visited  the  Malabar  Coast  in  A.  D.  1166. 
Another  was  the  Catalan  friar,  Jordanus,  about  1330; 
he  described  the  plant  as  something  like  ivy,  climbing 
trees  and  forming  fruit,  like  that  of  the  wild  vine. 
'This  fruit,'  he  says,  'is  at  first  green,  then,  when  it 
comes  to  maturity,  black.'  Nearly  the  same  state- 
ments are  repeated  by  Nicolo  Conti,  a  Venetian,  who, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century,  spent  twenty-five 
years  in  the  East.  He  observed  the  plant  in  Sumatra, 
and  also  described  it  as  resembling  ivy. 

"It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  all  the  foreign  names 
for  black  pepper  are  derived  from  Pippali,  the  Sanskrit 
name  for  long  pepper,  which  leads  one  to  suppose  that 


248  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  latter  spice  was  the  first  kind  of  pepper  known  to 
the  ancient  Persians  and  Arabs,  through  whose  hands  it 
first  reached  Europe.  Their  earlier  writers  describe 
the  plant  as  a  shrub  like  the  Pomegranate  (P.  chaba?) . 
The  moderns  apply  the  name  Filfil  (Pilpil,  Pers.)  to  all 
kinds  of  pepper.  Black  pepper  is  called  in  Sanskrit 
Maricha,  which  means  a  'pungent  berry.'  The  word 
is  derived  from  Marichi,  'a  particle  of  light  or  fire/ 
and  appears  to  have  been  first  applied  to  the  aromatic 
berries  known  as  Kakkola;  it  now  signifies  black  and 
red  pepper,  and  in  the  vernacular  forms  of  Mirach  or 
Mirchai,  is  a  household  word  in  India." 

PODOPHYLLUM  (Mandrake,  Mayapple) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

This  handsome  plant,  Podophyllum  peltatum,  known 
also  as  mandrake,  or  mayapple,  is  one  of  the  most 
attractive  features  of  the  early  spring  in  North  America, 
resisting  with  remarkable  efficiency  the  aggressive  in- 
roads of  the  agriculturalist.  It  was  used  by  the  North 
American  Indians,  the  Cherokees  employing  the  fresh 
juice  of  the  root  for  deafness,  and  the  Wyandottes  as  a 
drastic  cathartic.  Use  of  the  juice  in  deafness  has 
never  been  investigated.  The  once-celebrated  "Indian 
Doctor,"  Peter  Smith  (605)  and  others  of  early  date, 
employed  the  root  as  an  escharotic,  in  which  direction 
it  came  into  early  veterinary  practice.  American  physi- 
cians and  writers  on  medicine  have  generally  praised 
its  qualities  as  a  purgative,  its  active  cathartic  nature 
having  been  known  from  the  days  of  the  Indians.  The 
vegetable  substitute  for  the  once  popular  antimonial 
plaster  used  so  freely  by  physicians  during  the  period 
of  vesication  popularity  was  the  "Compound  Tar 


PODOPHYLLUM  249 

Plaster"  of  the  early  botanies.  This  contained  podo- 
phyllum,  phytolacca,  and  sanguinaria.  Concerning 
podophyllum,  Buchan  (110)  comments  as  follows 
(1816): 

"This  plant  is  very  common  throughout  North 
America.  The  fruit  is  esculent,  and  by  many  thought 
delicious.  The  leaves  are  poisonous.  The  root  is  an 
excellent  purgative  in  doses  of  twenty  grains.  It  is 
most  advantageously  used  in  combination  with  calomel, 
or  crystals  of  tartar.  The  root,  also,  often  operates  as 
anthelmintic,  and  as  such  it  is  used  by  the  Cherokee 
and  other  Southern  Indians. 

"The  best  time  for  gathering  the  May  apple,  for  medi- 
cal purposes,  is  in  autumn,  when  the  leaves  have  turned 
yellow,  and  are  about  falling  off.  The  Indians  dry  it  in 
the  shade,  and  powder  it  for  use." 

King,  in  the  first  edition  of  the  American  Dispensa- 
tory, 1852,  introduces  podophyllum  as  follows: 

"PROPERTIES  AND  USES. — Cathartic,  emetic,  alter- 
ative, anthelmintic,  hydragogue,  and  sialagogue.  It  is 
equal,  if  not  superior  to  jalap  as  a  cathartic,  and  espe- 
cially when  in  combination  with  bitartrate  of  potassa, 
it  induces  copious  watery  stools,  on  which  account  it 
has  been  found  serviceable  in  dropsical  affections.  As  a 
deobstruent,  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  in  our  ma- 
teria  medica,  acting  through  and  upon  all  the  tissues 
of  the  system — and  its  action  continues  for  a  long 
tune.  .  .  . 

"In  constipation,  podophyllum  acts  upon  the  bowels, 
without  disposing  them  to  subsequent  costiveness." 


250  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

RESINA  PODOPHYLLI  (Resin  of  Podophyllum) 

First  mentioned  in  the  Pharmacopeia  in  the  edition  of  I860. 
Official  in  all  later  editions.  The  trade  term,  "Podophyttin,"  is 
first  used  in  the  edition  of  1910,  in  which  it  appears  as  a  secondary 
title,  following  Resin  of  Podophyttum. 

DISCOVERY. — It  has  been  erroneously  stated,  and 
the  misstatement  frequently  repeated,  (later  writers 
probably  copying  from  each  other),  that  resin  of  podo- 
phyllum  was  discovered  in  1831  by  William  Hodgson, 
Jr.,  and  that  this  discovery  was  verified  by  Lewis,  1847. 
These  were  the  first  to  investigate  the  rhizome  of  podo- 
phyllum,  but  the  true  history  of  their  efforts  may  be 
briefly  stated,  as  follows: 

Hodgson,  in  1831,1  made  an  assay  of  the  rhizome  of 
Podophyllum  peltatum,  employing  destructive  chemical 
reagents  and  the  heroic  processes  then  prevailing.  He 
obtained  thereby,  largely,  decomposition  products,  but 
so  far  as  any  evidence  was  ever  presented,  Hodgson 
failed  to  isolate  the  natural  energetic  resinous  con- 
stituent of  podophyllum,  afterward  to  become  so  con- 
spicuous. 

In  1847,2  Mr.  John  R.  Lewis  again  investigated  the 
rhizome  of  podophyllum,  and  again  applied  too  much 
chemistry  (a  fault  not  altogether  lost,  even  yet),  and 
obtained  as  a  result  a  series  of  decomposition  products, 
among  which  was  one  of  a  very  slight  cathartic  action. 
If  the  resin  were  present  in  this  substance,  it  existed 
in  very  small  amount,  the  cathartic  dose,  as  reported 
by  Mr.  Lewis,  being  eight  grains. 

Resin  of  podophyllum  was  discovered  accidentally  in 
1835  by  Dr.  John  King,  then  a  young  physician  of  the 
botanic  school  of  medicine,  and  was  then  administered 

1  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy.  1831,  pp.  273-275. 
« American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1&47,  pp.  165-172. 


RESINA  PODOPHYLLI  251 

by  him  with  nearly  fatal  effects.  Dr.  King  described 
this  resin,  which  may  be  designated  as  "the  resinoid 
forerunner,"  as  it  constituted  the  first  American  mem- 
ber of  that  list  of  substances,  in  the  Philosophical  Jour- 
nal and  Transactions,  1844,  Vol.  I,  pp.  157-165.1 

THE  NAME. — The  substance  was  introduced  by  Dr. 
King  under  the  name,  Resin  of  Podophyllum.  He  de- 
scribes the  process  of  its  production  as  follows: 

"I  obtain  only  the  resin,  by  extracting  all  that  alcohol 
will  take  up,  then  filter  the  alcoholic  tincture,  to  which 
I  add  an  equal  amount  of  water,  and  separate  the  alco- 
hol by  distillation — the  resin  sinks  in  the  water." — West- 
ern Medical  Reformer,  1846,  p.  176. 

Without  materially  altering  the  product,  Dr.  King 
afterward  improved  his  process  by  evaporating  the 
alcoholic  tincture  to  a  cream,  pouring  the  residue  into 
cold  water  and  collecting  the  precipitated  resin.  Ac- 
cepting that  the  substance  he  had  discovered  was  a  true 
resin,  Dr.  King  applied  to  it  the  formal  title,  "Resin  of 
Podophyllum,"  but  when  the  substance  came  finally 
into  general  use,  this  title  seemed  too  cumbersome. 

COMMERCIAL  INTRODUCTION. — In  1847,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Dr.  John  King,  Dr.  Wm.  S.  Merrell,  a  phar- 
macist then  located  at  Court  and  Plum  Streets,  Cin- 
cinnati, prepared  the  resin,  which  he  introduced  to  the 
medical  and  pharmaceutical  professions  under  the  terse 
term  Podophyllin.  It  was  the  first  of  the  so-called 
Eclectic  resinoids.  Considerable  acrid  controversy  in 
the  Eclectic  ranks  followed,  in  connection  with  the 
subject  of  "resinoids"  and  their  names,  as  shown  in  the 
current  pages  of  the  Worcester  Journal  of  Medicine 

'  See  Bulletin  No.  12,  1910,  (Pharmacy  Series  No.  2),  of  the  Lloyd  Library  of  Botany, 
Pharmacy  and  Materia  Medica,  titled,  The  Eclectic  Alkaloids.  Resins,  Resinoids, 
Oleo-Resins  and  Concentrated  Principles. 


252  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

(Worcester,  Mass.),  the  Western  Medical  Reformer, 
(Worthington,  Ohio),  the  College  Journal,  (Cincinnati), 
and  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  (Cincinnati).  This 
controversy,  which  lasted  until  1855,  is  probably  long 
since  forgotten  by  most  persons,  and  is  entirely  un- 
known to  those  unacquainted  with  the  actors,  or  with 
early  Eclectic  literature.  It  may  be  summed  up, 
briefly,  somewhat  as  follows: 

The  name  "Podophyllin"  was  bitterly  assailed  by 
Dr.  Squibb,  who  considered  it  "unfortunate  that  those 
whose  aim  should  be  to  give  accuracy  and  precision  to 
matters  connected  with  medical  science  and  art,  should 
so  commonly  refuse  to  this  substance  its  proper  and  cor- 
rect name,  and  adhere  to  the  inaccurate  and  otherwise 
objectionable  name  of  podophyllin."  In  this  adverse 
view  of  the  name  Prof.  Parrish  concurred,  saying,1  "As 
well  might  the  Calisaya  extract  of  Ellis  be  called  quinia, 
as  the  impure  resinoid  substance  precipitated  from  a 
tincture  of  Mayapple,  by  the  above  process,  podo- 
phyllin." 

Dr.  Merrell,  who  (as  already  stated)  first  brought  to 
commercial  notice  the  resin-like  precipitate  obtained 
by  Dr.  King's  process,  and  who  first  used  the  term 
"podophyllin,"  ably  defended  that  name,  paralyzing 
his  critics  by  the  statement  that  "the  term  podophyllin 
had  been  suggested  to  him  by  Professor  Wood,  the 
author  of  the  United  States  Dispensatory,  who  is  no 
mean  authority."  Continuing  his  argument  for  the 
commercial  term  "podophyllin,"  Dr.  Merrell  says  as 
follows: 

"The  names  of  the  resinous  principles,  or  resinoids, 
should  be  made  to  terminate  in  in,  after  the  analogy  of 

1  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1851. 


RESINA  PODOPHYLLI  253 

the  generic  substance  resin  or  rosin,  and  accordingly  we 
should  write  Podophyllin,  Macrotin,  Jalapin,  etc." 

This  method  of  nomenclature,  suggested  by  Dr.  Mer- 
rell,  was  accepted  without  question  by  the  other  makers 
of  Eclectic  remedies  of  that  period,  Hill,  of  Cincinnati, 
and  Keith,  of  New  York,  each  of  whom  placed  upon  the 
market  a  limited  line  of  "resinoids,"  chief  among  which 
was  "Podophyllin."  From  that  date  the  name  "Podo- 
phyllin" appeared  as  the  trade  name  of  this  preparation, 
and  after  half  a  century  has  been  accepted  by  the 
U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  (1910),  thus  belatedly  vindicating 
Dr.  Merrell.1 

To  the  above  it  may  be  added  that  the  critics  of  the 
term  "podophyllin"  were  themselves  at  fault,  because 
the  material  is  not  a  resin,  but  a  mixture  of  substances. 
The  present  writer  feels  likewise  at  liberty  to  add  that 
Dr.  King,  time  and  again,  in  conversation  with  him 
personally,  lamented  that  not  only  had  the  name  of 
this  substance  been  the  occasion  for  acrimonious  dis- 
cussion in  Eclectic  ranks,  but  that  the  discovery  of  the 
substance  itself  had  been  accompanied  by  an  exceed- 
ingly trying  and  painful  experience,  resulting  almost  in 
professional  disaster  to  himself.  The  incident  had  un- 
doubtedly much  to  do  with  the  unusual  care  exercised 
thereafter  by  Dr.  King,  both  as  a  practitioner  and  as 
an  author.  This  may  be  best  described  by  giving,  ver- 
batim, a  letter  of  Dr.  King  bearing  upon  the  subject,2 
as  follows: 

1 A  process  for  the  assay  of  podophyllin  has  been  worked  out  by  Mr.  Charles  G. 
Merrell,  of  Wm.  S.  Merrell  &  Co.,  a  grandson  of  Dr.  Wm.  S.  Merrell.  This  phase  of  the 
history  of  the  drug  will  be  considered  at  length  in  the  volume  now  being  prepared  by  Dr. 
Waldbott  and  Dr.  Heyroth. 

1  Given  with  permission  to  publish  same  if  so  < 


254  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

North  Bend,  Ohio,  June  15,  1887. 
PROF.  JOHN  U.  LLOYD. 

My  Dear  Sir, — At  your  urgent  request,  I  will  en- 
deavor to  give  you  a  brief  account  of  the  discovery  of 
the  Resin  of  Podophyllum  Root,  more  commonly 
known  as  "Podophyllin."  My  introduction  to  it  was 
entirely  accidental,  and  attended  with  very  unpleasant 
circumstances. 

In  the  fall  of  1837,1  I  think  it  was,  knowing  nothing 
of  this  resin,  an  attempt  was  made  to  prepare  a  hydro- 
alcoholic  extract  from  some  forty  pounds  of  the  coarsely- 
powdered  Podophyllum  Root.  A  portion  of  alcohol 
having  been  distilled  over  from  the  root  tincture,  water 
was  added  to  the  remaining  tincture,  the  intention 
being  to  evaporate  this  diluted  tincture  that  a  hydro- 
alcoholic  extract  might  be  had,  but  night  coming  on  the 
process  of  evaporation  was  postponed  until  the  following 
day.  On  the  next  morning,  while  stirring  the  cold  mix- 
ture, numerous  pieces  of  a  dark,  somewhat  porous  and 
rather  brittle  body,  were  found  in  the  fluid.  Many 
were  the  surmises  as  to  what  they  were,  and  the  query 
arose  as  to  their  value,  if  any,  as  a  medicinal  agent. 

In  the  midst  of  these  speculations,  a  young  lady, 
about  seventeen  years  of  age,  who  was  present,  com- 
plained of  feeling  ill.  Having  no  idea  of  the  intense 
activity  of  the  article  just  discovered,  I  administered 
about  twelve  or  fifteen  grains.  Nothing  further  was 
thought  of  the  matter  until  about  an  hour  afterward, 
when  my  attention  was  called  to  her  condition.  She 
was  in  severe  pain  and  distress,  cramps  in  the  stomach 
and  extremities,  pulse  small  and  feeble,  extremities 
cold,  excessive  vomiting  and  hypercatharsis,  and  ap- 

1  The  date  was  earlier.  Data,  elsewhere  recorded,  show  that  it  was  as  early  aa 
1835— L. 


RESINA  PODOPHYLLI  255 

parently  sinking  rapidly.  Her  condition  greatly  resem- 
bled that  of  a  person  suffering  from  a  fatal  attack  of 
Asiatic  cholera.  To  say  that  I  was  greatly  alarmed 
would  but  feebly  describe  my  mental  condition.  I  ran 
to  secure  the  aid  of  two  or  three  professional  friends,  but 
could  find  none  of  them  in  their  offices.  Then  I  ran 
back  again,  trembling  over  what  might  be  the  con- 
sequences, and  thinking  out  a  course  of  treatment  to 
pursue.  A  princely  fortune  could  not  induce  me  to 
undergo  a  repetition  of  such  condition. 

By  the  time  I  reached  the  patient,  I  had  become 
more  calm.  A  half-saturated,  aqueous  solution  of  pot- 
ash saleratus  was  given,  in  tablespoonful  doses,  every 
ten  minutes,  several  doses  being  administered  before  the 
stomach  would  retain  it;  subsequently,  the  intervals 
between  the  doses  were  lengthened.  Sinapisms  were 
applied  to  the  wrists  and  ankles;  a  fomentation  of  bitter 
herbs,  as  hot  as  could  be  borne,  was  applied  over  the 
stomach  and  abdomen,  changing  it  as  often  as  required. 
In  about  an  hour  the  extremities  became  warm,  and  a 
general  perspiration  soon  followed,  with  diminishing 
suffering  and  a  partial  return  to  a  feeling  of  health  and 
strength.  In  about  an  hour  or  two  succeeding  the  im- 
provement, the  sinapisms  were  removed,  an  infusion  of 
slippery-elm  bark  was  ordered  to  be  drunk  freely,  and 
about  eight  grains  of  the  Compound  Powder  of  Ipe- 
cacuanha and  Opium  were  given  every  three  hours. 
The  next  morning  she  was  decidedly  better. 

In  the  course  of  the  second  day,  her  friends  allowed 
her  to  have  a  little  soup,  which  was  followed  by  a  seri- 
ous gastro-enteritic  inflammation.  The  fomentations 
and  sinapisms  were  repeated,  and  the  Diaphoretic  Pow- 
ders continued,  as  well  as  the  slippery  elm  infusion,  to 


256  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

which  some  prepared  charcoal  was  added,  not  daring  to 
prescribe  a  more  active  laxative.  By  perseverance  in 
this  course,  the  patient  recovered  in  six  or  seven  days, 
but,  unfortunately,  with  some  chronic  gastro-enteritic 
abnormal  condition,  that  remained  for  many  years. 
From  this  experience  I  was  so  influenced,  that  I  feared 
to  use  any  of  the  remainder  of  the  resin  until,  at  least 
eighteen  months  had  passed,  when  I  ventured  a  repeti- 
tion of  its  use,  but  in  much  smaller  quantity,  and  with 
most  excellent  results. 

There,  my  dear  Professor,  you  have  in  a  nutshell 
my   discovery,    which   led   to   further   investigations, 
resulting  in  the  obtainment  of  more  or  less  active 
principles,  from  other  of  our  medicinal  plants. 
Yours  with  Respect, 

JNO.  KING,  M.  D. 

A  complete  history  of  the  discovery  of  Resin  of  Podo- 
phyllum,  with  detailed  references  to  this  and  others  of 
the  "Eclectic  resinoids,"  of  which  the  foregoing  is  a 
brief  resume,  may  be  found  in  Bulletin  No.  12  of  the 
Lloyd  Library.1  In  this  are  carried  short  biographies, 
accompanied  by  excellent  portraits,  of  both  Dr.  John 
King2  and  Dr.  William  S.  Merrell. 

1  See  footnote,  p.  251. 

»In  connection  with  his  history  of  "Podophyllin,"  Dr.  King  speaks  of  "a  princely  for- 
tune." It  might  be  added  that  in  his  contribution  of  this  substance,  Dr.  King  gave  to  Amer- 
ica and  the  world  more  than  a  princely  fortune.  To  say  that  millions  of  dollars  have  come 
from  this  one  substance  to  collectors,  manufacturers,  pharmacists  and  physicians,  expresses 
but  mildly  a  fact  that  could  be  verified  by  statistics.  A  neat  monument,  contributed  by 
the  Eclectic  profession  through  "The  Right  Side  of  the  Car,"  marks  the  tomb  of  King  near 
his  home  at  North  Bend,  Ohio.  The  life  of  Dr.  King  was  in  itself  a  contribution  to  the  world 
of  medicine,  pharmacy,  science,  the  land  he  loved,  America,  his  ideal.  In  this  the  resin 
of  podophyllum  was  but  an  incident.  But  for  the  encouragement  of  Dr.  King,  the  writer 
of  these  lines  could  not  have  made  his  way  in  pharmacy,  the  Library  in  which  these  researches 
are  now  oossible  could  not  have  been  instituted. 


PRUNUS  VIRGINIANA  257 

PRUNUM  (Prune) 

Until  1910,  from  which  it  is  dropped,  Prunum  is  named  in 
every  issue  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  excepting  the  New  York  edition  of 
1830. 

The  cultivated  varieties  of  the  prune  tree,  Prunus 
domestica,  or  prune,  are  believed  to  descend  from  a  wild 
prune,  native  to  Greece,  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea, 
and  the  Caucasus,  reaching  even  into  Persia.  Pliny 
(514)  records  the  fact  that  one  of  the  numerous  vari- 
eties of  the  plum  tree  known  in  his  day  afforded  a 
laxative  fruit.  The  pulp  of  the  prune  has  been  used  in 
domestic  medicine  as  well  as  by  the  medical  profession, 
paralleling  (or  following),  the  efforts  of  those  con- 
cerned in  early  medication.  The  pulp  of  the  French 
prune  was  an  ingredient  of  the  once  celebrated  confec- 
tion Lenitive  Electuary.  History  does  not  record  the 
beginning  of  the  use  of  this  fruit  in  the  confection 
formerly  so  popular  in  domestic  medicine. 

PRUNUS  VIRGINIANA   (Wild  Cherry) 

Named  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  In  the  first,  1820, 
(2d  ed.,  1828),  it  appears  in  the  Secondary  List.  From  1830  it 
became  fully  official.  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  directs  stem-bark  of  Prunus 
serotina  (Prunus  virginiana),  the  Wild  Black  Cherry  Bark. 

The  Prunus  virginiana,  wild  black  cherry,  found 
throughout  the  eastern  parts  of  the  United  States,  has 
been  widely  used  in  domestic  medicine  since  the  days 
of  the  Indian,  being  perhaps  more  highly  valued  in  this 
direction  than  by  members  of  the  profession,  although 
it  has  been  recognized  in  the  Pharmacopeia  since  the 
first  edition  of  that  work,  1820.  No  more  popular  bark 
of  a  native  tree,  excepting  sassafras,  is  known  to  home 
medication,  which  gave  it  a  place  in  all  works  on  early 
American  domestic  medication.  Its  description  and 


258  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

uses  by  the  American  pioneers  are  admirably  given  by 
Buchan,  (110),  in  Every  Man  His  Own  Doctor,  as 
follows : 

"The  common  wild  cherry  tree  is  often  found  in  woods 
and  hedges  and  is  associated  with  the  trees  of  the  for- 
est, growing  to  the  height  of  forty  or  more  feet  and  of  a 
very  large  size.  The  gum  which  exudes  from  the  tree  is 
said  to  be  equal  to  gum  arabic.  This  tree  produces  in 
autumn  a  small  bitter  cherry,  black  when  quite  ripe, 
which  serves  for  food  for  birds  who  frequently  become 
intoxicated  from  eating  them.  They  also  are  infused 
in  brandy  by  the  country  people  on  account  of  the 
pleasant  aromatic  flavor  which  they  impart  to  the 
liquor.  The  bark  of  the  wild  cherry  tree  is  powerfully 
tonic,  and  has  been  frequently  substituted  for  the  Peru- 
vian bark,  with  great  success.  It  is  slightly  narcotic, 
and  commonly  produces  a  drowsiness  in  those  who  take 
it.  From  the  experiments  of  Mr.  C.  Morris  of  Virginia, 
(Inaugural  Dissertation,  1812,  Phila.),  it  appeared  that 
the  bark  of  the  root  was  more  powerful  than  the  bark  of 
the  trunk.  It  has  been  very  useful  in  dyspepsia,  and 
in  consumption  of  the  lungs.  The  Indians,  it  is  said,  use 
the  bark  in  the  cure  of  syphilis.  Very  excellent  effects 
have  been  produced  by  washing  ill-conditioned  ulcers 
with  a  decoction  of  the  bark,  and  the  same  has  proved 
anthelmintic.  The  leaves  of  the  tree  are  poisonous  to 
certain  animals.  While  this  valuable  tree  abounds  in 
the  United  States,  we  act  unwisely,  says  Dr.  Mease,  in 
sending  thousands  of  dollars  out  of  the  country  for  the 
Peruvian  bark." 


QUASSIA  259 

PYRETHRUM   (Pyrethrum,  Pellitory  Root) 

Official  in  1820,  1828,  and  in  the  New  York  edition  of  1830. 
It  was  dropped  altogether  from  the  Philadelphia  edition  of  1830. 
From  1840  to  1870  it  was  demoted  to  the  Secondary  List.  From 
1880  to  1910  it  has  been  official. 

Pellitory,  or  Spanish  chamomile,  Anacyclus  Py- 
rethrum, is  a  widely  distributed  plant,  known  under 
different  names  in  different  countries.  According  to 
Pliny  (514)  it  was  the  herb  used  by  the  ''Magians" 
under  the  name  Parthenium  against  intermittent  fevers, 
and  according  to  Dioscorides  (194)  it  is  the  plant  that, 
under  the  name  Anthemis,  was  used  in  the  same  manner. 
It  is  found  throughout  European  Turkey,  and  according 
to  Forskal,  southward  to  the  mountains  of  Yemen, 
where  it  is  called  mceniat.  According  to  De  Candolle 
(122)  its  introduction  into  Britain  was  perhaps  before 
the  coming  of  the  Romans.  The  European  colonists 
carried  it,  according  to  Josselyn  (345)  to  Northeast 
America  before  1669,  where  it  is  to  be  found  both  under 
cultivation  and,  having  escaped  therefrom,  as  a  wild 
plant.  Once  a  popular  remedy  in  agues,  its  use  is  now 
practically  discontinued,  even  in  domestic  medicine. 
Physicians  as  a  rule  now  neglect  it,  although  it  is 
employed  by  them  in  a  few  exceptional  instances. 

QUASSIA   (Quassia) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  excepting  1830,  New  York. 
The  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  officializes  the  wood  of  Picrasma  excelsa 
(Jamaica  Quassia  of  commerce),  or  of  Quassia  amara  (Surinam 
Quassia  of  commerce). 

Quassia  amara  takes  its  name  from  a  slave  of  Surinam 
named  Quassi,  (see  article  "Quassia  Amara,"  Western 
Druggist,  (679a),  Chicago,  Jan.  1897),  who  used  the 
plant  as  a  secret  remedy  with  great  success  in  the  treat- 


260  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

ment  of  malignant  fevers  common  to  his  locality  and 
climate.  Daniel  Rolander,  a  Swede,  became  interested 
in  the  drug,  and  "in  consequence  of  a  valuable  con- 
sideration," purchased  from  the  slave  Quassi  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  drug  composing  his  remedy.  Rolander 
returned  to  Stockholm  in  1756,  when  he  introduced  the 
drug  to  Europe.  In  1760  or  1761  Carol.  Gust.  Dahl- 
berg,  an  officer  of  the  Dutch  army  and  an  eminent 
botanist,  a  pupil  of  Linnaeus  (385),  returned  to  Sweden 
from  Surinam,  where  he  too  had  become  acquainted 
with  the  slave  Quassi,  and  through  kindness  to  him  had 
so  gained  his  affection  that  he  revealed  not  only  the 
composition  of  his  secret  remedy,  but  even  showed  to 
him  the  tree  from  which  the  drug  was  derived.  Dahl- 
berg  procured  specimens  of  the  root,  flowers  and  leaves 
of  the  tree,  preserving  them  in  alcohol,  and  presented 
them  to  Linnaeus,  who  named  the  wood  Lignum  quas- 
sia, in  honor  of  the  slave,  and  established  a  new  genus 
for  the  plant,  which  he  named  Quassia  amara.  The  drug 
was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  medical  profession  by 
Linnaeus'  lectures  on  materia  medica,  as  well  as  through 
a  dissertation  written  under  his  direction,  in  1763,  by 
one  of  his  pupils,  Carolus  M.  Blom.  Rather  more  than 
a  questioning,  however,  seems  to  exist,  as  to  the  exact 
plant  employed  by  the  slave  Quassi.  As  pointed  out 
by  Dr.  Wright,  the  leaves  pictured  in  the  Linnaean 
Dissertation  belonged  to  another  species  than  the 
Quassia  amara,  an  error  corrected  by  the  younger 
Linnaeus. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  Philippe 
Fermin,  a  French  physician  and  traveler  in  Surinam, 
spelled  the  name  of  the  slave  Coissi,  questioning  some- 
what the  fact  of  his  having  discovered  the  uses  of  the 


QUERCUS  261 

remedy,  which  Fermin  states  had  been  used  in  Surinam 
as  early  as  1714.  It  may  also  be  noted  that,  according 
to  Murray,  a  spice  dealer  of  Amsterdam,  Albert  Seba, 
is  said  to  have  had  in  his  collection  a  specimen  of  a  bark 
of  a  tree  named  quasci  as  early  as  1730.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  drug  known  as  quassia  under  the  empirical 
introduction  given  by  the  native  of  Dutch  Guiana  be- 
came known  to  European  civilization,  and  in  1788 
became  official  in  the  London  Pharmacopeia.  Con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  drug,  the  German  Pharma- 
copeia, 1872,  demanded  that  the  wood  employed  be 
that  of  Quassia  amara.  In  the  second  edition,  1882, 
that  of  Picrcena  excelsa  was  concurrently  admitted. 
Either  species  furnishes  the  official  quassia  of  the  pres- 
ent Pharmacopeia  of  the  United  States. 

QUERCUS  (White  Oak) 

Official,  from  1820,  until  the  1910  edition,  from  which  it  is 
dropped. 

The  bark  of  the  oak,  Quercus  alba,  is  strongly  astrin- 
gent, and  has  ever  been  used  in  domestic  medicine 
where  an  astringent  material  is  applicable,  as  for  ex- 
ample, in  dysentery,  hemorrhages,  etc.  In  the  form  of 
a  poultice,  a  decoction  and  as  a  tincture,  it  has  a  domes- 
tic record,  probably  common  to  other  species  of  oak, 
in  all  countries.  The  medical  profession  has  added 
little,  if  anything,  to  the  domestic  uses  of  quercus,  as 
recorded  by  Rafinesque  (535),  Porcher  (520),  Cutler 
(178),  and  the  early  American  dispensatories  and  works 
on  materia  medica.  From  the  first  edition  of  Professor 
King's  American  Dispensatory,  1852,  we  extract  as 
follows : 

"Externally,  a  decoction  of  quercus  forms  an  excellent 


262  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

gargle  for  relaxed  uvula  and  sore  throat,  a  good  stimu- 
lating astringent  lotion  for  ulcers  with  spongy  granula- 
tions, and  an  astringent  injection  for  leucorrhea,  pro- 
lapsus ani,  hemorrhoids,  etc.  A  poultice  of  the  ground 
bark  has  often  proved  of  service  in  gangrene  and 
mortification. 

"In  sickly,  debilitated  children,  and  in  severe  diar- 
rheas, especially  when  the  result  of  fevers,  the  decoction 
given  internally,  and  used  as  a  bath  to  the  body  and 
limbs,  two  or  three  times  a  day,  will  be  found  very 
efficacious.  When  given  for  diarrhea  or  dysentery,  it 
should  be  combined  with  aromatics,  and  sometimes 
with  castor  oil.  A  bath  is  often  advantageous  in  some 
cutaneous  diseases.  The  green  bark  of  elder  and  white 
oak,  bruised  together,  or  in  strong  decoction,  forms  a 
very  useful  and  valuable  application  to  abrasions." 

QUILLAJA  (Quillaja,  Soap  Bark) 

Named  only  in  the  U.  S.  P.'s  from  1880  to  1900.  Dropped 
from  1910. 

Quillaja  Saponaria,  soapbark,  named  by  Molina  (444) 
in  1782  in  his  History  of  Chili,  is  the  bark  of  a  South 
American  tree,  having  similar  qualities  to  other  soap 
weeds  or  barks,  derived  from  various  plants  and  trees, 
and  used  by  the  natives  of  different  countries  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  soap,  or  rather  as  a  material  for  purposes 
similar  to  those  of  soap.  Among  the  first  contributions 
to  the  literature  of  saponaria  is  that  of  Henry,  Jr.,  and 
Boutron  Charlard,  Amer.  Journ.  of  Pharm.,  1841,  p.  209, 
(17b),  in  which  the  now  well-known  acrid,  frothing 
qualities  of  the  drug  are  mentioned,  the  statement 
being  that  the  name  originated  from  the  Chilean  term 
quilloan,  to  wash.  In  the  American  Medical  Intelli- 
gencer, Sept.  15,  1840,  Dr.  Ruschenberger,  of  the 


RHAMNUS  PURSHIANA  263 

United  States  Navy  (Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1841),  con- 
tributes an  article  on  this  bark  which,  according  to  his 
observations  in  Chili,  1827,  was  used  principally  for 
cleansing  purposes.  Dr.  Ruschenberger  returned  from 
Chili  in  1829  with  specimens  of  the  bark,  stating  that 
as  late  as  1833  the  extract  had  not  been  used  in  Val- 
paraiso, although  in  1835  Dr.  J.  Stiles,  of  Valparaiso, 
was  authority  for  the  statement  that  at  that  date  the 
extract  had  been  made  in  that  city  and  was  being  used 
experimentally.  The  natives  of  South  America  employ 
an  infusion  of  quillaja  as  a  wash,  which  led  Dr.  Ruschen- 
berger to  say:  "From  what  I  have  seen  of  the  effects  of 
this  cold  infusion,  I  should  be  disposed  to  give  it  a  trial 
as  an  injection  in  leucorrhea,  with  the  expectation  of 
very  favorable  results."  The  nature  of  quillaja,  so 
nearly  resembling  the  acridity  of  senega,  led  to  the  ex- 
pectation that  it  would  parallel  that  drug  in  its  remedial 
qualities  in  the  direction  of  coughs  and  pulmonary 
affections.  It  has  not,  however,  become  a  favorite, 
other  than  as  a  producer  of  suds  and  as  a  frother  for 
syrups,  in  which  direction  the  extract  has  been  em- 
ployed in  the  making  of  the  popular  American  beverage, 
the  so-called  soda-water,  a  use  of  quillaja  that  the 
Government  has  now  wisely  prohibited. 

RHAMNUS  FURSHIANA  (Cascara  Sagrada) 
(See  also  Frangula) 

Rhamnus  catharticus  (buckthorn  berries)  was  official  in  1820, 
1828  (2d  ed.  of  1820)  and  the  New  York  edition  of  1830.  It  was 
then  dropped  altogether  until  1890,  when  Rhamnus  Purshiana 
was  made  official,  with  the  secondary  title,  Cascara  Sagrada. 
The  1900  edition  followed  that  of  1890.  In  1910  the  title  Cascara 
Sagrada  was  made  official,  Rhamnus  Purshiana  being  mentioned 
only  as  the  botanical  name  of  the  tree  yielding  the  drug. 

Rhamnus,  buckthorn,  is  of  wide  distribution.  The 
variety  catharticus,  formerly  used  in  medicine,  prevails 


264  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

over  Northern  Africa,  most  of  Europe,  the  Caucasus, 
and  into  Siberia.  In  some  instances  it  becomes  almost 
a  small  tree,  Fliickiger  (240)  having  a  specimen  eight 
inches  in  diameter.  Before  the  Norman  Conquest 
buckthorn  was  known  as  a  laxative,  under  the  name 
Waythorn  or  Hartshorn.  The  Welsh  physicians  of  the 
13th  century  (507)  prescribed  a  preparation  of  the  ber- 
ries under  the  name  Syrup  of  Buckthorn,  a  title  that 
still  prevails.  This  syrup,  aromatized,  became  official 
in  the  London  Pharmacopeia,  1650. 

Rhamnus  Purshiana. — The  present  official  drug  of  the 
Pharmacopeia,  Rhamnus  Purshiana,  is  not  only  related 
botanically  to  the  earlier  variety,  but  it  is  therapeuti- 
cally  similar,  being  laxative  hi  small  doses  and  cathartic 
in  large  doses.  The  tree  (R.  Purshiana},  is  distributed 
over  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  western  Pacific  states, 
being  most  abundant  in  California  and  Oregon.  Pos- 
sibly collectors  do  not  always  distinguish  between  this 
species  and  Rhamnus  californica.  To  the  settlers  of  the 
west  it  has  long  been  known  as  "Chittim  wood,"  and  by 
them  an  infusion  of  the  bark  is  used  as  a  cathartic. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Bundy  (Ilia),  of  Colusa,  California,  im- 
pressed with  its  value,  brought  the  bark,  under  the 
name  Cascara  Sagrada,  to  the  attention  of  Parke,  Davis 
&  Co.,  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  This  firm  introduced  it 
in  1877,  through  the  columns  of  their  publication,  New 
Preparations,  (467),  1877  and  1878. 

The  remedy  became  a  great  favorite,  and  within  a 
reasonable  tune  was  in  demand  throughout  the  civilized 
world,  becoming  official  in  the  Pharmacopeia  of  the 
United  States  in  1890.  The  remarkable  record  of 
rhamnus  has  been  a  subject  of  many  contributions  to 
botanical  and  therapeutic  literature,  and  much  of 


RHAMNUS  PURSHIANA  (CASCARA  SAGRADA)     (Page  263) 

Upper.    CASCARA  SAGRADA  BARK 

,  left.    CUTTING  THE  TREES.  Lower,  right.    TREES  BARKED 

Presented  by  Parke,  Davis  &  Company. 


RHAMNUS  PURSHIANA  265 

interest  concerning  it  remains  yet  unwritten.  To  this 
writer  its  journey  from  the  aborigines  to  scientific  use 
and  systematic  therapeutic  study  appears  to  parallel 
the  course  of  such  drugs  as  coca,  jalap,  benzoin,  sassa- 
fras, cinchona  and  Croton  Tiglium. 

A  descriptive  treatise,  recording  some  previously  un- 
written phases  of  the  dramatic  history  of  rhamnus, 
familiar  only  to  those  concerned  in  its  introduction, 
was  contributed  by  this  writer,1  in  1896,  to  the  Research 
Committee  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tion. From  this  we  take  the  following  brief  summary: 

"In  a  paper  contributed  to  New  Preparations?  Octo- 
ber 15,  1877,  p.  8,  the  late  Dr.  J.  H.  Bundy,  of  Colusa, 
California,  commended  'Cascara  Sagrada'  as  a  val- 
uable remedy  in  the  treatment  of  constipation.  This 
notice  was  by  means  of  a  brief  note  that  was  part  of  a 
paper  on  Berberis  aquifolium,  Dr.  Bundy  promising, 
however,  to  give  the  subject  further  attention  later. 
Dr.  Bundy  says: 

"It  is  not  my  purpose  to  treat  on  Cascara  Sagrada 
in  this  paper,  but  using  it  in  connection  with  the  Ber- 
beris, I  simply  make  mention  of  it.  In  the  future  I  will 
introduce  the  drug  to  the  profession." 

This,  so  far  as  the  writer  can  determine,  was  the  first 
reference  concerning  this  remedy  in  pharmaceutical  or 
medical  print.  Agreeably  to  promise,  in  January,  1878, 
Dr.  Bundy  contributed  to  New  Preparations  a  paper  on 
"Cascara  Sagrada,"  in  which  he  gave  the  uses  of  the 
fluid  extract  of  that  remedy.  Following  this  came  many 
papers  from  Dr.  Bundy  and  other  physicians,  twenty 
contributions  on  the  subject  being  printed  in  New 

1  Introductory  to'a  contribution  from  chemical  investigations  of  Rhamnus  Purshiana, 
undertaken  by  Alfred  R.  L.  Dohme  (175a). 

'  New  Preparations,  Detroit,  Mich.    Parke,  Davia  &  Co.    (467). 


266  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Preparations,  1878,  the  subject  being  confined  to  this 
publication  during  1877  and  1878.  Dr.  Bundy  stated 
in  his  paper,  1878,  as  follows:  "A  description  of  the 
Cascara  I  am  unable  to  give  at  this  time,  but  suffice  it 
to  say  that  it  is  a  shrub,  and  in  due  time  its  botanical 
name  will  be  known."  Dr.  Bundy  neglected,  however, 
to  concern  himself  further  in  the  matter. 

In  the  fall  of  1878,  Dr.  C.  H.  Adair,  of  Colusa,  Cali- 
fornia, a  partner  of  Dr.  Bundy,  sent  to  this  writer 
specimens  of  the  bark,  and  botanical  specimens  of  the 
tree  yielding  it.  These  were  identified  by  Mr.  Curtis  G. 
Lloyd  as  Rhamnus  Purshiana.  This  fact  was  an- 
nounced in  a  paper  titled  "Some  Specimens  of  Western 
Plants,"  presented  to  the  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association  at  its  meeting  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  No- 
vember, 1878,  (Proceedings,  1879,  p.  707),  and  com- 
pleted the  drug's  history. 

NAMES. — Dr.  Bundy  supplied  the  drug  under  the 
Spanish  name  "Cascara  Sagrada,"  a  term  said  to  have 
been  in  local  use  throughout  some  sections  of  California. 
This  came  to  be  the  common  name  of  the  drug,  and  will 
surely  dominate  all  others  as  long  as  the  drug  is  in  use. 
The  anglicized  name,  "Sacred  Bark,"  has  also  been 
applied  to  the  drug,  the  Scriptural  term  "Chittim 
bark"  being  also  employed  in  early  days  in  some  parts 
of  California.  These  last  names  are  now  obsolete. 

At  the  present  date,  this  drug  is  employed  in  every 
civilized  country  and  is  recognized  in  medical,  pharma- 
ceutical, and  chemical  literature  the  world  over.  To 
give  detailed  references  to  it  would  require  a  volume 
in  space. 

The  pharmacy  and  chemistry  of  cascara  sagrada 
is  now  voluminous,  its  record  lying  in  the  field  of 


RHEUM  267 

Dr.  Waldbott  and  Prof.  Heyroth.  References  thereto 
are  recorded  in  the  contribution  of  Dr.  Dohme 
(Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assn.,  1897,  pp.  193-202),  en- 
titled "The  Chemistry  of  Cascara  Sagrada,"  together 
with  references  to  works  of  previous  investigators. 
Dr.  Dohme's  results  are  not  susceptible  of  satisfactory 
condensation,  especially  as  he  includes  and  contrasts 
therewith  constituents  obtained  from  buckthorn.  In 
1898,  in  connection  with  Dr.  Hermann  Engelhardt, 
Dr.  Dohme  continued  the  study  of  cascara  sagrada, 
under  the  title  "The  Bitter  Principle  of  Cascara  Sa- 
grada," announcing  that  it  was  but  a  preliminary  con- 
tribution that  would  be  continued  in  the  future.  (See 
^Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assn.,  1898,  p.  340,  341).  Although 
our  study  is  restricted  to  crude  drug  history,  the  inno- 
vation made  in  the  direction  of  the  articles  by  Dr. 
Dohme  concerning  the  structures  of  these  two  drugs 
cannot  come  amiss  to  one  concerned  in  the  subject  as  a 
whole.1 

RHEUM  (Rhubarb) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
The  1910  edition  makes  official  the  rhizome  and  roots  of  Rheum 
ojficinale.  Rheum  palmatum  and  variety  tanguticum,  and  prob- 
ably "other  species  of  Rheum  grown  in  China  and  Thibet." 

Rheum  officinale,  rhubarb,  is  a  gift  of  the  Chinese, 
who  from  all  times  have  used  it  in  domestic  practice,  as 
noted  in  the  herbal  Pen-king,  (about  2700  B.  C.,  Dy- 
mock),  probably  the  production  of  the  Emperor  Shen- 
nung,  the  "father  of  Chinese  agriculture  and  medicine." 
(Fliickiger).  As  exported  from  its  home  in  China,  it 
has  been  known  respectively  as  Russian,  Turkish  and 
Chinese  rhubarb,  in  accordance  with  the  country 

1  See  "Monographs  from  the  Research  Laboratory  of  Sharp  and  Dohme,  The  History, 
Pharmacognosy,  and  Chemistry  of  Cascara  Sagrada." 


268  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

through  which  it  reached  the  market  from  its  native 
land.  As  a  drastic  cathartic  and  a  laxative  this  drug  is 
used  in  large  amounts,  having  been  long  accepted  as  a 
household  remedy  in  syrup  and  tincture  form  the  world 
throughout.  Rhubarb  is  one  of  the  great  gifts  of  empiri- 
cism to  the  medical  profession.  Fllickiger  naturally 
gives  this  drug  detailed  care,  as  is  true  also  of  Dymock, 
in  his  Pharmacographia  Indica.  From  these  two  great 
publications  we  condense  as  follows: 

"HISTORY. — In  the  great  Geography  of  China  it  is 
stated  that  rhubarb  was  a  tribute  of  the  province  Si- 
ning-fu,  from  about  the  7th  to  the  10th  centuries  of  our 
era. 

"As  regards  Western  Asia  and  Europe,  we  find  a 
root  called  pa  or  prjov,  mentioned  by  Dioscorides  as 
brought  from  beyond  the  Bosphorus.  The  same  drug 
is  alluded  to  in  the  fourth  century  by  Ammianus  Mar- 
cellinus,  who  states  that  it  takes  its  name  from  the 
river  Rha  (the  modern  Volga),  on  whose  banks  it  grows. 
Pliny  describes  a  root  termed  Rhacoma,  which  when 
pounded  yielded  a  colour  like  that  of  wine  but  inclining 
to  saffron,  and  was  brought  from  beyond  Pontus. 

"The  drug  thus  described  is  usually  regarded  as  rhu- 
barb, or  at  least  as  the  root  of  some  species  of  Rheum, 
but  whether  produced  in  the  regions  of  the  Euxine 
(Pontus)  or  merely  received  from  remoter  countries,  is 
a  question  that  can  not  be  solved. 

"It  is,  however,  certain  that  the  name  Radix  pontica 
or  Rha  ponticum  used  by  Scribonius  Largus  and  Celsus 
was  applied  in  allusion  to  the  region  whence  the  drug  was 
received.  Lassen  has  shown  that  trading  caravans 
from  Shensi  in  Northern  China  arrived  at  Bokhara  as 


RHEUM  269 

early  as  the  year  114  B.  C.  Goods  thus  transported 
might  reach  Europe  either  by  way  of  the  Black  Sea,  or 
by  conveyance  down  the  Indus  to  the  ancient  port  of 
Barbarike. 

"The  terms  Rheum  barbarum  or  Reu  barbarum  occur 
in  the  writings  of  Alexander  Trallianus  about  the  middle 
of  the  6th  century,  and  in  those  of  Benedictus  Crispus, 
archbishop  of  Milan,  and  Isidore  of  Seville,  who  both 
nourished  in  the  7th  century.  Among  the  Arabian 
writers  on  medicine,  the  younger  Mesue,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  llth  century,  mentions  the  rhubarb  of 
China  as  superior  to  the  Barbaric  or  Turkish.  Con- 
stantinus  Africanus  about  the  same  period  speaks  of 
Indian  and  Pontic  Rheum,  the  former  of  which  he  de- 
clares to  be  preferable.  In  1154,  the  celebrated  Arabian 
geographer  Edrisi  mentions  rhubarb  as  a  product  of 
China,  growing  in  the  mountains  of  Buthink — probably 
the  environs  of  northeastern  Tibet  near  Lake  Tengri 
Nor. 

"Rhubarb  in  the  12th  century  was  probably  imported 
from  India,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  tariff  of  duties 
levied  at  the  port  of  Aeon  in  Syria,  in  which  document 
it  is  enumerated  along  with  many  Indian  drugs.  A 
similar  list  of  A.  D.  1271,  relating  to  Barcelona,  men- 
tions Ruibardo.  In  a  statute  of  the  city  of  Pisa  called 
the  Breve  Funda-cariorum,  dating  1305,  rhubarb 
(ribarbari)  is  classified  with  commodities  of  the  Levant 
and  India. 

"The  first  and  almost  the  only  European  who  has 
visited  the  rhubarb  yielding  countries  of  China,  is  the 
famous  Venetian  traveller,  Marco  Polo,  who  speaking 
of  the  province  of  Tangut,  says:  'Among  all  the  moun- 


270  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

tains  of  this  province,  rhubarb  (reobarbe)  is  found  in 
great  abundance.  And  merchants  buy  it,  and  carry  it 
all  over  the  world.' 

"The  risk  and  expense  of  the  enormous  land-transport 
over  almost  the  whole  breadth  of  Asia,  caused  rhubarb 
in  ancient  times  to  be  one  of  the  very  costly  drugs. 
Thus  at  Alexandria  in  1497,  it  was  valued  at  twelve 
times  the  price  of  benzoin.  In  France,  in  1542,  it  was 
worth  ten  times  as  much  as  cinnamon,  or  more  than 
four  times  the  price  of  saffron.  At  Ulm,  in  1596,  it  was 
more  costly  than  opium.  A  German  price-list  of  the 
magistrate  of  Schweinfurt,  of  1614,  shows  Radix  Rha 
Barbari  to  be  six  times  as  dear  as  fine  myrrh,  and  more 
than  twice  the  price  of  opium.  An  official  English  list 
giving  the  price  of  drugs  in  1657,  quotes  opium  as  6s. 
per  lb.,  scammony  12s.,  and  rhubarb  16s."  (Fliickiger 
and  Hanbury,  Pharmacographia,  pp.  493,  4  and  6.) 

"Riwas  (the  plant  Ri  in  the  Zend  language),  was 
known  to  the  ancient  Persians,  and  the  same  name  is 
still  applied  to  a  species  of  Rheum  in  the  province  of 
Gilan  in  Persia.  Aitchison  found  R.  Ribes,  Gronov., 
on  the  Paropamisus  range,  to  be  known  to  the  peas- 
antry as  Rewash,  Rewand  and  Chukri;  he  states  that 
the  flowering  branches  are  eaten,  and  the  root  used  in 
coloring  leather.  In  the  Hari-rud  Valley  he  found  R. 
tataricum,  Linn.,  to  be  known  as  Rewash-i-dewana, 
'fool's  rhubarb,'  the  fruit  and  root  being  used  as  a  pur- 
gative. Ibn  Sina  notices  both  the  plant  Ribas  (Riwas, 
Pers.)  and  the  drug  Rawand,  the  first  an  acid  plant,  and 
the  second  evidently  Chinese  rhubarb.  Mesue,  early 
in  the  llth  century,  distinguishes  between  Chinese  and 
Khorasan  rhubarb,  and  Haji  Zein-el-attar,  writing  in 
1368,  says :  'I  consider  Rewand  to  be  the  same  as  Ribas. 


RHUS  GLABRA  271 

Ibn  Jazla,  author  of  the  Minhaj,  states  that  there  are 
two  kinds,  China  and  Khorasan  rhubarb,  and  that  the 
latter  is  known  as  Rawand-el-dawabb,  and  is  used  in 
veterinary  practice,  whilst  the  Chinese  is  reserved  for 
human  beings.  The  latter  is  the  best  kind,  and,  when 
powdered,  is  of  a  saffron  color;  the  fractured  surface  has 
the  grain  of  a  cow's  hump,  and  is  friable;  it  is  called 
"meaty  rhubarb,"  and  should  be  in  large  pieces  like  a 
horse's  hoof,  and  not  worm-eaten.  In  my  experience 
there  are  three  kinds  of  rhubarb,  Chinese,  Khorasan, 
and  Indian.  Mesue  states  that  rhubarb  is  hot  in  the 
third  degree  and  dry  in  the  first.' 

"Rhubarb  is  not  an  article  of  the  Hindu  Materia 
Medica,  but  the  modern  Hindus  have  become  ac- 
quainted with  its  properties  through  Mahometan  and 
European  physicians."  (Dymock,  Pharmacographia 
Indica,  v.  3,  pp.  153^.) 

The  botanical  history  and  description  of  the  rhu- 
barbs is  of  great  interest,  but  out  of  place  in  this  publi- 
cation. We  venture  to  suggest  that  no  greater  service 
could  be  offered  our  members,  or  greater  credit  given 
our  society,  than  a  special  volume  devoted  wholly  to 
the  botanical  relatives  of  Pharmacopeial  drugs,  by  the 
American  botanical  authorities,  H.  H.  Rusby  or 
Henry  Kraemer. 

RHUS  GLABRA'  (Sumach) 

As  Rhtis  glabrum,  this  appears  in  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820 
to  1870,  inclusive,  but  in  the  Secondary  List  only.  It  was  official 
in  the  editions  of  1880  and  1890,  but  was  dropped  from  the  edition 
of  1910. 

Sumach,  Rhus  glabra,  is  found  in  most  of  the  temper- 
ate parts  of  the  United  States,  to  which  country  it  is 

1  Rhus  Toxicodendron  (Poison  Ivy,  Poison  Oak),  was  recognized  by  all  the 
Pharmacopeias  (even  the  Pharmacopeia  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society. 
1808),  until  the  edition  of  1900,  from  which  it  was  dropped.  Previous  to  the  year  1880  it 
was  known  under  the  name  Toxicodendron,  but  appeared  in  the  Secondary  List  only. 


272  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

indigenous.  It  was  extensively  used  by  the  Indians, 
who  used  the  powdered  seeds  to  treat  piles  and  as  ap- 
plication to  wounds,  and  the  juice  of  the  fresh  fruit  for 
warts,  and  in  treatment  of  skin  diseases  Like  tetter. 
In  domestic  medicine  the  berries  were  also  emplojred,  in 
a  decoction,  as  a  gargle  in  quinsy,  ulceration  of  the 
mouth  and  throat,  and  as  a  wash  for  ringworm,  tetter 
and  offensive  ulcers.  These  well-known  uses  of  the 
American  plant,  which  is  so  ornamental  after  the  frost 
strikes  its  leaves  in  the  fall,  led  to  its  introduction  into 
professional  medicine.  In  Turkey,  as  this  writer  was 
informed  while  in  that  country,  the  berries  of  sumach 
are  used  in  instituting  the  ferment  of  their  popular 
curd  food. 

ROSA  GALLICA  (Red  Rose) 

The  rose  is  mentioned  in  all  editions  of  the  Pharmacopeia, 
from  1820  to  1910,  inclusive.  In  the  early  editions,  1820  and 
1828,  the  variety  Rosa  centifolia,  alone,  is  named.  From  1830 
to  1890,  the  red  and  the  pale  rose  are  given  equal  prominence.  In 
the  editions  of  1900  and  1910,  Rosa  gattica  alone  is  named,  the 
variety  centifolia  being  dropped. 

The  rose,  in  some  form  of  its  many  varieties,  is  in- 
digenous to  the  warmer  parts  of  Europe,  Asia  Minor, 
the  Caucasus,  and  other  countries.  Its  use  in  medicine, 
as  well  as  in  perfumes,  dates  from  the  earliest  times. 
The  Rosa  gallica  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into 
France  in  1241  by  the  Count  of  Champagne,  on  his 
return  from  the  Crusades.  In  the  study  of  "attar  of 
roses,"  made  by  the  present  writer  on  the  bottom  lands 
beneath  Mt.  Olympus,  near  Brussa,  in  Turkey,  he 
found  the  roses  planted  in  rows,  appearing  much  like 
fields  of  raspberries.  The  flowers  were  of  a  rather  in- 
significant appearance,, but  very  fragrant.  The  process 
employed  in  the  distillation  of  the  oil,  as  well  as  the 


ROSA  GALLICA,  Page  272  (No.  3) 

Upper.    TURKS  IN  ROSE  FIELD,  NEAR  BRUSSA 

Lower.    ROSE  WATER  STILL,  NEAR  BRUSSA 

Photographed  by  John  Uri  Lloyd. 


ROSA  GALLICA,  Page  272  (No.  4) 

Upper.    FRONT  VIEW,  ROSE  OIL  STILL,  NEAR  BRUSSA 

Lower.    BACK  VIEW,  ROSE  OIL  STILL,  NEAR  BRUSSA 

Photographed  by  John  Uri  Lloyd. 


ROSA  GALLICA  273 

apparatus,  was  of  the  crudest.  A  copper-bottomed 
still  of  tin,  having  a  capacity  of  about  fifty  gallons,  was 
heated  at  its  bottom  by  a  direct,  charcoal  furnace. 
From  the  top  of  the  still,  a  tin  pipe  ran  horizontally 
along  a  rude  trough  about  fifteen  feet  in  length,  filled 
with  very  cold,  running  water,  supplied  in  abundance 
from  the  springs  of  Mt.  Olympus,  this  being  raised  by 
means  of  an  undershot  water  wheel,  about  eight  feet 
in  height  and  two  feet  in  diameter,  with  paddles  on  the 
extremities  of  the  arms.  To  the  ends  of  these  paddles 
were  affixed  tin  cans,  holding  about  a  quart  each. 
These  were  submerged,  successively,  as  the  wheel 
turned  slowly,  in  a  lower  trough  supplied  with  running 
water,  and  on  rising  they  poured  their  contents  into 
the  upper  trough,  carrying  the  pipe  from  the  still.  The 
vapor  from  the  still  was  thus  condensed,  the  rose  oil 
separating  from  the  water  of  distillation,  which  was 
used  over  and  over,  with  fresh  lots  of  rose  petals.  By 
this  rude  process  two  kinds  of  rose  oil  were  made  by 
the  Turkish  owner  of  the  gardens,  one  from  white,  the 
other  from  red  roses,  their  colors  being  respectively  a 
light  yellowish,  and  a  reddish.  The  oil  from  each  con- 
gealed at  ordinary  temperatures.  Specimens  of  the 
oils  then  procured  are  yet  in  my  possession,  seemingly 
as  fragrant  and  as  sweet  as  when  first  made. 

The  use  of  the  rose  in  confection  form,  in  pharma- 
copeial  medicine,  once  very  popular,  has,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  its  employment  in  "blue  mass,"  Massa  Hy- 
drargyrum, become  nearly  obsolete.  In  the  "Arabian 
Nights,"  (88),  rose  water  is  often  mentioned.  In  Turk- 
ish home  life,  it  is  employed  as  a  refreshing  perfume 
after  bathing.  The  wife  and  daughters  of  the  writer, 
in  the  summer  of  1906,  were  entertained  at  the  home 


274  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

of  a  reigning  Bey  in  the  interior  of  Turkey,  near  the 
site  of  the  ancient  city  of  Sardis.  The  following  is  a 
brief  account  of  their  reception: 

"On  entering  the  home,  a  change  in  shoes  is  made,  the 
street  shoes  being  left  outside  the  door.  In  the  vesti- 
bule of  the  harem,  on  a  stand,  is  found  a  large  empty 
bowl  with  a  perforated  silver  top.  We  extended  our 
hands  over  this  bowl,  and  a  servant  poured  over  them 
water,  with  which  we  bathed  first  the  hands  and  then 
the  face.  A  long  Turkish  towel  was  then  handed  us, 
and  afterwards  an  attendant  sprayed  our  faces  and 
hands  with  rose  water.  We  were  then  presumed  to  be 
refreshed,  and  ready  to  enter  the  home." 

This  use  of  rose  water  by  Oriental  ladies  dates  from 
the  very  earliest  period.  From  the  same  section  of  the 
Orient  we  find  it  recorded  in  Rimmel's  Book  of  Per- 
fumes, 1867,  as  follows: 

"Rose-water  is  still  held  in  high  repute  in  the  East, 
and  when  a  stranger  enters  a  house,  the  most  grateful 
token  of  welcome  that  can  be  offered  to  him  is  to 
sprinkle  him  over  with  rose-water,  which  is  done  by 
means  of  a  vessel  with  a  narrow  spout  called  gulabdan. 
It  is  to  this  custom  that  Byron  alludes  in  The  Bride  of 
Abydos,  when  he  says — 

'She  snatched  the  urn  wherein  was  mix'd 
The  Persian  Atar-gul's  perfume, 
And  sprinkled  all  its  odours  o'er 
The  pictured  roof  and  marbled  floor. 
The  drops  that  through  his  glitt'ring  vest 
The  playful  girl's  appeal  address'd, 
Unheeded  o'er  his  bosom  flew 
As  if  that  breast  was  marble  too.' 


ROSA  GALLICA  275 

"Niebuhr,  in  his  'Description  of  Arabia,'  mentions 
likewise  this  habit  of  throwing  rose-water  on  visitors 
as  a  mark  of  honour." 

Nor  did  Moore  overlook  this  queen  of  flowers.  In 
his  poem,  Lallah  Rookh,  frequent  reference  is  made 
thereto,  of  which  the  following  will  serve  as  an  illus- 
tration: 

"The  floweret  of  a  hundred  leaves, 
Expanding  while  the  dew-fall  flows, 
And  every  leaf  its  balm  receives." 

The  legend  of  Tristram  and  Iseult  beautifully  illus- 
trates the  springing  of  a  sprout  of  ivy  from  the  grave 
of  each,  to  twine  together  when  "it  met  its  fellow  at 
the  crown  of  the  vaulted  roof  and  there  clasped  it  as 
only  ivy  can."  The  same  conception  is  found  in  the 
old  ballad  of  Fair  Margaret  and  Sweet  William,  which 
appears  in  many  variations,  from  one  of  which  we 
extract  as  follows: 

"Margaret  was  buried  in  the  low  chanc61 

And  William  in  the  higher; 
Out  of  her  breast  there  sprang  a  rose, 
And  out  of  his  a  briar."1 

In  Gulistan,  (meaning,  Garden  of  Roses'),  said  to  be 
the  finest  poem  ever  written  in  the  Persian  language,  the 
author,  Sadi,  explains  his  motives  for  giving  this  name 
to  his  work,  as  follows: 

"On  the  first  day  of  the  month  of  Urdabihisht  (May), 
I  resolved  with  a  friend  to  pass  the  night  in  my  garden. 
The  ground  was  enamelled  with  flowers,  the  sky  was 
lighted  with  brilliant  stars;  the  nightingale  sang  its 

'  See  The  Sacred  Tree,  or  The  Tree  in  Religion  and  Myth,  by  Mrs.  J.  H.  PhUpot, 
1897. 
19 


276  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

sweet  melodies  perched  on  the  highest  branches;  the 
dew-drops  hung  on  the  rose  like  tears  on  the  cheek  of 
an  angry  beauty;  the  parterre  was  covered  with  hya- 
cinths of  a  thousand  hues,  among  which  meandered  a 
limpid  stream.  When  morning  came  my  friend 
gathered  roses,  basilisks,  and  hyacinths,  and  placed 
them  in  the  folds  of  his  garments;  but  I  said  to  him, 
'Throw  these  away,  for  I  am  going  to  compose  a  Gul- 
istan  (garden  of  roses),  which  will  last  for  eternity, 
whilst  your  flowers  will  live  but  for  a  day.' "  (Book  of 
Perfumes,  Rimmel,  p.  129.) 

RUBUS  VILLOSUS  (Blackberry) 

Rubus  villosus  has  been  official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P. 
until  1910,  when  it  was  dropped.  In  the  early  editions,  from  1820 
to  1850,  it  was  mentioned  along  with  Rubus  trivialis,  (Dewberry), 
in  the  Secondary  List.  In  1860  dewberry  was  dropped,  Rubus  vill. 
being  promoted  to  the  Primary  List,  retaining  its  official  position 
until  1910.  In  1880  and  1890,  the  variety  Rubus  Idceus  (Rasp- 
berry), was  also  official,  but  was  then  dropped. 

Blackberry,  Rubus  villosus,  grows  abundantly  in 
most  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  roots  of  the 
various  species  as  well  as  varieties  of  rubus  are  more  or 
less  astringent,  and  have  been  used  in  domestic  medi- 
cine from  the  days  of  America's  first  settlement.  The 
Cherokee  Indians,  (Rafmesque),  (535),  chewed  the 
root  of  this  plant  and  swallowed  the  saliva  for  treat- 
ment of  cough,  its  astringency  being  probably  helpful 
to  the  throat  membranes.  They  also  used  a  poultice 
of  rubus  for  the  piles,  in  which  direction  its  mild  astrin- 
gency seems  rationally  to  adapt  it.  A  syrup  of  black- 
berry root  has  ever  been  a  great  favorite  in  some  sec- 
tions of  the  country  as  a  remedy  for  dysentery.  This 
use  of  rubus  in  domestic  medication,  in  which  it  has 
always  been  valued  in  America,  led  finally  to  its  em- 


SABAL  277 

ployment  by  the  members  of  the  medical  profession. 
The  juice  of  the  blackberry  fruit,  spiced  and  mixed 
with  whiskey,  has  ever  been  a  valued  carminative 
drink  in  Kentucky  and  other  parts  of  the  Southern 
United  States,  and  founded  the  well-known  "Black- 
berry Cordial." 

SABAL  (Saw  Palmetto) 

Official  only  in  the  Pharmacopeias  of  1900  and  1910. 
The  berry  of  the  saw  palmetto,  Serenoa  serrulata, 
(Sabal  serrulata),  practically  unknown  in  medicine  be- 
fore 1879,  came  rapidly  into  conspicuity  after  that  date, 
in  both  pharmacy  and  medicine.  It  had  been  observed 
by  the  settlers  of  the  South  that  animals  feeding  on  the 
matured  fruit  "grew  very  sleek  and  fat,"  a  fact  ascribed 
to  the  therapeutic  qualities  of  the  berries,  and  reasoning 
from  this,  they  prepared  a  decoction  of  the  fruit  for  do- 
mestic medication.1  In  1877,  Dr.  Reed,  of  the  Southern 
United  States,  in  an  article  titled  "A  New  Remedy," 
in  the  Medical  Brief,  (417),  St.  Louis,  stated  that  sev- 
eral persons  in  his  neighborhood  were  using  a  prepara- 
tion of  the  berry,  giving  instances  of  its  use  in  various 
directions.  This  article  was  reproduced  hi  New  Prepa- 
rations (467),  July,  1879,  and  was  followed  in  the  same 
publication  by  another  article  from  the  Medical  Brief, 
in  which  Dr.  I.  J.  M.  Goss,  then  of  Marietta,  Georgia, 
stated  that  he  had  been  induced  to  use  the  remedy  and 
considered  it  satisfactory.  After  this  introduction  the 
drug  came  repeatedly  to  the  attention  of  physicians. 
Manufacturing  pharmacists  gave  it  especial  attention, 
and  at  the  present  time  it  is  one  of  the  most  important 
remedial  products  of  the  South.  Thus  the.experimenta- 

1  Since  ripe  saw  palmetto  berries  contain  much  fixed  oil  it  might  also  be  inferred  that 
the/ood  side  of  the  subject  should  not  be  overlooked.— L. 


278  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

tion  of  the  people,  following  its  apparent  effect  on 
animals,  was  in  turn  followed  by  the  investigations  of 
physicians,  the  remedy  being  finally  introduced  to  the 
pages  of  the  Pharmacopeia.  In  OUT  opinion,  the  vol- 
atile oil  and  its  decomposition  products  are  of  exceeding 
interest.  These  substances  have  been  for  some  years 
under  the  investigation  of  Professor  Edward  Kremers, 
of  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

SABINA  (Savin,  Juniper) 

Official  in  all  editions  from  1820  to  1900.  Dropped  from 
U.  S.  P.  in  1910  edition. 

Sabina,  Juniperus  Sabina,  is  native  to  the  mountain- 
ous portions  of  Austria,  Switzerland,  and  some  parts  of 
France.  It  is  also  found  in  the  Pyrenees,  Italy,  the 
Caucasus,  and  other  countries  in  regions  far  above  the 
sea  level,  and  in  the  northern  parts  of  North  America. 
Sabina  was  used  in  veterinary  medicine,  as  mentioned 
by  Marcus  Porcius  Cato  (132),  a  Roman  author,  200 
B.  C.  It  was  also  known  to  Dioscorides  (194)  and  to 
Pliny  (514).  The  early  domestic  "leech  books,"  before 
the  Norman  Conquest,  gave  a  place  to  sabina,  and 
Charlemagne  ordered  that  it  should  be  planted  on  the 
imperial  farm.  Macer  Floridus  (397),  in  the  10th  cen- 
tury, commended  the  use  of  sabina  in  wounds  and 
ulcers.  For  the  uses  of  this  drug,  see  any  of  the  early 
Materia  Medicas  or  Dispensatories. 

SACCHARUM  (Sugar) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910.  The 
U.  S.  P.,  1910,  names  sucrose  from  Saccharum  officinarum,  Beta 
vidgaris  var.  Rapa,  and  other  sources. 

The  sugar-cane,  Saccharum  officinarum,  is  cultivated 
in  all  tropical  countries,  such  as  India,  China,  Mexico, 
and  the  West  Indies,  its  native  land  being  probably 


SACCHARUM  279 

India  or  the  Indo-Chinese  countries  and  islands.  As 
made  from  the  cane,  sugar  has  been  known  from  time 
immemorial.  It  is  mentioned  by  such  early  writers  as 
Theophrastus  (633)  and  Herodotus  (314a),  and  others, 
who  knew  raw  sugar  as  honey  of  canes,  and  in  the  early 
Christian  era  sugar  became  well  known  under  the  name 
saccharon.  Dioscorides,  77  A.  D.,  describes  it  as  ob- 
tained from  India  and  Arabia  Felix,  stating  that  in 
brittleness,  it  resembled  salt.  Pliny  mentions  it  under 
the  name  saccharum,  and  an  unknown  writer,  54-68 
A.  D.,  mentions  it  as  an  article  of  import  to  the  ports 
of  the  Red  Sea  opposite  Aden.  (For  description  of 
that  country,  see  Burton's  First  Footprints)  (113),  but 
it  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  brought  from  the  eastern 
or  western  parts  of  India.  It  is  mentioned  by  Abu 
Zayd  al  Hasan  (240),  850  A.  D.,  as  produced  on  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  in  950  A.  D.,  Moses  of  Chorene 
states  that  it  was  then  manufactured  in  quantities. 
Sugar  was  introduced  into  medicine  in  the  10th  and 
llth  centuries  by  Rhazes,  a  physician  of  Persia,  who 
died  about  923  A.  D.,  Haly  Abbas  (295)  and  others; 
but  it  had  ever  been  employed,  as  it  is  still  employed, 
in  domestic  medicine  for  the  purpose  of  disguising  un- 
pleasant materials,  and  for  sweetening  acrid  substances. 
Burton  (113)  found  crude  sugar  an  article  of  domestic 
use  by  several  tribes  of  native  Africans.  As  a  remedy 
in  itself,  sugar  has  been  quite  often  a  therapeutic  factor 
in  both  domestic  and  regular  medicine.  The  value  of 
sugar  as  a  food  was  scarcely  appreciated  before  the 
middle  of  the  19th  century,  it  being  generally  accepted 
as  a  "sweetener,"  pleasant  to  the  taste,  especially  with 
children.  At  the  present  time,  1918,  sugar  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  important  foods. 


280  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

Dymock  naturally  makes  a  close  study  of  the  Oriental 
history  of  sacchamm.  We  take  pleasure  in  quoting,  as 
follows. 

"HISTORY. — If  the  wild  form  of  the  sugar-cane  is  to  be 
anywhere  now  met  with,  it  is  in  India,  of  which  country 
it  is  undoubtedly  a  native,  and  where  it  has  been  culti- 
vated from  the  earliest  antiquity.  Whether  the  species 
grown  in  China  is  specifically  the  same,  is  scarcely  de- 
termined with  certainty,  but  it  is  probably  native  to 
that  country.  The  Sanskrit  name  of  the  plant  is  Ikshu, 
and  it  is  also  called  Guda-trina,  'the  grass  from  which 
guda  is  made,'  and  Guda-daru,  etc.,  from  the  juice 
(Ikshurasa);  the  ancient  Hindus  prepared  an  extract 
by  boiling,  which,  when  soft  and  sticky,  was  called 
Ikshurassa-kvatha,  Phanita,  and  Guda,  but  when 
allowed  to  dram  and  become  dry,  was  known  as  Guda- 
sarkara,  Khanda  or  Khanda-sarkara,  and  Matoyan- 
dika.  Twelve  varieties  of  sugar-cane  are  mentioned  by 
Sanskrit  writers,  but  in  this  number  are  probably  in- 
cluded other  grasses  belonging  to  the  genera  Saccharum, 
Sorghum,  etc.  The  root  of  the  sugar  cane  is  also  used 
in  Hindu  medicine,  and  is  considered  to  have  demulcent 
and  diuretic  properties.  A  kind  of  rum  was  also  ob- 
tained by  the  ancient  Hindus  from  the  juice  of  the  cane 
or  from  guda  and  water  fermented,  which  was  known 
as  Sidhu  and  Ganda."  (Dymock,  Pharmacographia 
Indica,  v.  3,  p.  593.) 

SALVIA  (Sage) 

First  mentioned  in  U.  S.  P.  in  1840,  but  in  Secondary  List, 
which  position  it  held  in  1850.  It  was  transferred  to  the  Primary 
List  in  1860,  and  remained  official  until  1900.  It  was  dropped  in 
1910. 

Sage,  Salvia  officinalis,  has  been  used  by  the  herb- 
alists from  all  time,  being  likewise  employed  as  a 


SALVIA  281 

flavor  in  culinary  directions.  Pliny  (514) ,  Theophrastus 
(633)  and  other  early  writers  mention  this  plant,  which 
is  now  cultivated  in  all  temperate  regions  of  the  world. 
It  is  still  employed  in  decoction  as  a  domestic  medicinal 
drink,  and  when  bruised,  the  fresh  herb  is  applied  as  a 
poultice  to  sprains  and  swellings.  Its  empirical  use 
antedates  its  employment  in  systematic  medicine.  The 
uses  of  sage  in  domestic  medicine  in  England,  with  its 
history  in  that  direction,  are  given  in  Culpeper's  Com- 
plete Herbal,  1653,  (175).  Note  that  the  use  of  sage  to 
darken  the  hair  is  there  recorded.  Let  us  extract  from 
this  work,  as  follows: 

"GOVERNMENT  AND  VIRTUES. — Jupiter  claims  this 
plant,  and  bids  me  tell  you,  it  is  good  for  the  liver,  and 
to  breed  blood.  A  decoction  of  the  leaves  and  branches 
of  Sage  made  and  drank,  saith  Dioscorides,  provokes 
urine,  brings  down  women's  courses,  helps  to  expel  the 
dead  child,  and  causes  the  hair  to  become  black.  It 
stays  the  bleeding  of  wounds,  and  cleanses  foul  ulcers. 
Three  spoonfuls  of  the  juice  of  Sage  taken  fasting,  with 
a  little  honey,  doth  presently  stay  the  spitting  or  casting 
of  blood  of  them  that  are  hi  a  consumption. 

"Matthiolus  saith,  it  is  very  profitable  for  all  manner 
of  pains  in  the  head  coming  of  cold  and  rheumatic 
humors:  as  also  for  all  pains  of  the  joints,  whether  in- 
wardly or  outwardly,  and  therefore  helps  the  falling- 
sickness,  the  lethargy  such  as  are  dull  and  heavy  of 
spirit,  the  palsy;  and  is  of  much  use  in  all  defluctions 
of  rheum  from  the  head,  and  for  the  diseases  of  the  chest 
or  breast. 

"Pliny  saith,  it  procures  women's  courses,  and  stays 
them  coming  down  too  fast:  helps  the  stinging  and 
biting  of  serpents,  and  kills  the  worms  that  breed  in  the 


282  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

ear,  and  in  sores. ,  Sage  is  of  excellent  use  to  help  the 
memory,  warming  and  quickening  the  senses;  and  the 
conserve  made  of  the  flowers  is  used  to  the  same  pur- 
pose, and  also  for  all  the  former  recited  diseases.  The 
juice  of  Sage  drank  with  vinegar,  hath  been  of  good  use 
in  tune  of  the  plague  at  all  times.  Gargles  likewise  are 
made  with  Sage,  rosemary,  honey-suckles,  and  plantain, 
boiled  in  wine  or  water,  with  some  honey  or  allum  put 
thereto,  to  wash  sore  mouths  and  throats,  cankers,  or 
the  secret  parts  of  man  or  woman,  as  need  requires. 
And  with  other  hot  and  comfortable  herbs,  Sage  is 
boiled  to  bathe  the  body  and  the  legs  hi  the  summer 
tune,  especially  to  warm  cold  joints,  or  sinews,  trou- 
bled with  the  palsy  and  cramp,  and  to  comfort  and 
strengthen  the  parts.  It  is  much  commended  against 
the  stitch,  or  pains  in  the  side  coming  of  wind,  if  the 
place  be  fomented  warm  with  the  decoction  thereof  in 
wine,  and  the  herb  also  after  boiling  be  laid  warm 
thereunto." 

SANGUINARIA  (Bloodroot) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  Pharmacopeia,  from  1820  to 
1910. 

Bloodroot,  Sanguinaria  canadensis,  is  found  through- 
out the  temperate  regions  of  the  United  States,  east  of 
the  Mississippi  River.  It  was  used  by  the  Indians  as  a 
dye  for  their  garments,  and  for  staining  their  faces  and 
bodies,  in  which  direction  it  served  the  double  object 
of  a  coloring  material,  and  to  keep  away  insects,  it  being 
to  them  disagreeable.  The  Indians  also  used  it  as  an 
acrid  emetic,  and,  mixed  with  other  herbs,  in  the  form 
of  an  ointment,  as  an  application  to  indolent  ulcers,  its 
action  being  somewhat  escharotic.  The  early  settlers 


SANGUINARIA  283 

employed  sanguinaria  in  these  directions,  while  its 
efficacy  in  coughs  and  colds  established  it  as  a  constit- 
uent of  home-made  compounds  such  as  syrups  and 
tinctures.  To  the  Eclectic  school  of  medicine  is  to  be 
credited  the  professional  use  of  this  drug  and  its  alka- 
loidal  constituents,  although  its  sensible  qualities  and 
domestic  uses  had  been  well  established  previous  to 
the  systematic  efforts  made  by  physicians  of  this 
section  in  medicine.  Sanguinaria  was  mentioned  by 
Barton  (43),  Cutler  (178),  Thacher  (631),  Schopf 
(582),  Bigelow  (69),  and  other  early  investigators, 
whose  recorded  statements  demonstrate  the  method  of 
its  introduction,  as  above  described.  In  1803,  William 
Downey  took  this  drug  for  the  subject  of  the  Thesis 
submitted  by  him  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
for  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  dedicating  his 
"Experimental  Inquiry"  to  the  celebrated  investigator 
of  American  botanical  products,  Professor  Benjamin 
Smith  Barton,  M.  D.,  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. This  publication  was  illustrated  by  an  excellent 
frontispiece  drawing  of  the  plant,  including  flower, 
rhizome  and  immature  fruit,  no  more  characteristic 
being  now  in  print.  Dr.  Downey  made  an  analysts  of 
the  root  according  to  methods  then  prevalent,  deciding 
that  "The  principle  of  activity  resides  chiefly  in  the 
gum."  His  investigations  were  made  before  the  dis- 
covery of  alkaloids,  and  although  he  produced  the 
nitrate  of  sanguinarine,  he  failed  to  purify  it,  merely 
stating  that  when  nitric  acid  was  added  to  the  decoc- 
tion of  the  root,  "a  precipitate  instantly  took  place." 
Possibly  there  is  no  earlier  description  of  the  formation 
of  an  alkaloidal  salt,  surely  not  of  an  American  drug. 
Dr.  Downey's  physiological  experiments,  performed 


284  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

on  himself  and  friends,  while  not  in  accord  with  modern 
methods,  are  yet  of  great  interest,  especially  as  relating 
to  the  action  of  the  drug  when  applied  externally.  Let 
us  quote: 

"A  portion  of  the  powdered  root  was  sprinkled  over 
the  ulcers,  and  then  covered  with  a  little  common  cerate, 
in  which  some  of  the  powder  was  also  incorporated. 
The  discharge,  by  this  treatment,  was  much  amended; 
the  callous  edges  were  rendered  much  softer,  and  the 
ulcers  in  general  acquired  a  healthy  appearance.  It  may 
be  proper  to  observe,  that  these  changes  were  effected 
by  only  a  few  applications  of  the  powder." 

As  an  internal  agent,  Downey  sums  up  the  problem 
as  follows: 

"We  have  seen  that  it  is  a  powerful  stimulant,  and 
that  when  taken  in  certain  doses,  it  excites  vomiting. 
And  that  in  small  doses  it  acts  as  a  general  stimulating 
tonic,  as  is  shown  by  its  increasing  the  appetite,  and  its 
action  on  the  arterial  system. 

"It  has  been  placed  in  the  class  of  emetics  by  Pro- 
fessor Barton,  (see  his  Collections  for  an  Essay  Towards 
a  Materia  Medica  of  the  United  States),  which  is  cer- 
tainly its  proper  arrangement.  Its  most  prominent 
effect  being  to  induce  vomiting  even  in  moderate  doses." 

In  connection  with  lard,  arsenic  and  hydrated  ferric 
oxide,  sanguinaria  constituted  a  once-popular  "cancer" 
remedy.  It  was  also  a  constituent  of  a  very  early  Ec- 
lectic remedy,  yet  popular,  "Compound  Tar  Plaster" 
(see  Podophyllum).  It  is  one. of  the  most  prolific 
bearers  of  alkaloidal  content  known  to  vegetation. 
Its  red  juice  owes  its  color  to  a  peculiar  alkaloidal 
structure  that,  when  pure,  turns  white  by  alkaline  reac- 
tion, though  the  alkaloid  itself  is  practically  colorless. 


SANTALUM  RUBRUM  285 

SANTALUM  RUBRUM  (Red  Saunders) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  excepting  the  New 
York  edition  of  1830.  In  the  editions  of  1820  (and  2d  ed.  1828) 
it  was  named  in  the  Secondary  List,  but  the  Philadelphia  edition  of 
1830  promoted  it  to  Primary  List. 

Red  sandalwood,  red  sanders,  Pterocarpus  santalinus, 
is  a  small  tree  native  to  the  southern  part  of  the  Indian 
Peninsula,  being  found  at  Canara,  Mysore  and  the 
Coromandel  Coast.  It  is  also  found  in  the  Southern 
Philippines.  The  wood  is  obtained  chiefly  from  planta- 
tions in  the  forests  of  the  Kurnool  Hills  and  adjacent 
localities  neighboring  to  Madras.  The  beginning  of 
the  use  of  this  wood  for  temples  and  other  primitive 
religious  buildings  "is  lost  in  antiquity.  Marco  Polo 
(518)  refers  to  the  fact  that  sandalwood  was  imported 
into  China,  distinguishing  the  variety  by  the  word  red. 
Garcia  de  Orta  (480)  of  Goa,  in  the  16th  century,  dis- 
tinguishes between  the  fragrant  sandalwood  of  Timor 
and  the  inodorous  red  sandalwood.  In  this  connection 
it  should  be  remembered  that  santalum  rubrum,  or  red 
sanders,  has  none  of  the  qualities  of  the  santalum 
album,  or  fragrant  sandalwood.  And  yet  it  is  recorded 
that  all  the  languages  of  India  call  it  by  the  name  red- 
colored  sandalwood.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  sandalwood 
was  used  in  Europe  for  coloring  purposes,  being  quoted 
in  England,  1326  and  1399,  at  three  shillings  per  pound, 
and  being  entered  on  the  accounts  of  the  Monastery  of 
Durham,  1530,  along  with  spices  and  groceries.  It  is 
used  in  pharmacy  as  a  coloring  agent,  after  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  employed  in  domestic  economy  in  the 
olden  times,  for  the  same  purpose.  To  fail  to  credit 
Dymock  with  his  researches  on  this  conspicuous  Indian 
tree,  would  be  a  gross  oversight.  To  attempt  to  im- 
prove on  his  descriptions,  or  to  summarize  them,  would 


286  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

be  unsatisfactory.  We  therefore  quote  from  him,  as 
follows : 

"Sanskrit  writers  mention  two  kinds  of  sandal  wood, 
(Chandana):  the  darker,  heartwood,  they  call  Pita- 
chandana,  or  yellow  Sandal;  and  the  lighter  wood, 
Srikhanda,  or  white  Sandal.  Chandana  is  mentioned 
in  the  Nirukta,  or  writings  of  Yaska,  the  oldest  Vedic 
commentary  extant,  said  to  be  written  not  later  than 
the  5th  century  B.  C.  It  is  also  referred  to  in  the 
ancient  epic  poems  of  the  Hindus,  the  Ramayana  and 
Mahabharata. 

"According  to  the  Kathasaritsagara,  it  is  one  of  the 
trees  of  the  Buddhic  paradise,  and  the  chariot  of  the 
sun  is  made  of  its  wood  bound  with  gold. 

"Under  the  namegandh  (perfume),  sandal  wood  paste 
is  largely  used  hi  Hindu  ceremonial,  being  smeared 
upon  idols  and  upon  the  foreheads  of  their  worshippers. 
The  wood  is  chiefly  consumed  at  the  chita  or  funeral 
pile,  even  comparatively  poor  people  spending  as  much 
as  fifty  rupees  upon  it. 

"Sandalwood  logs  are  about  a  yard  in  length  and  5  to 
6  inches  in  diameter;  they  are  stripped  of  the  bark,  and 
a  portion  of  the  sap  wood.  Andreas  Peterson  of  Copen- 
hagen, who  hi  1886  made  a  very  careful  investigation 
of  the  wood,  says:  'It  is  very  homogeneous,  rather 
hard  and  ponderous,  although  it  does  not  sink  in  water. 
The  heartwood  is  pale  reddish,  with  darker  reddish- 
brown  and  brighter  yellowish  concentric  zones,  which, 
examined  under  the  microscope,  prove  to  be  annual 
rings.  In  the  inner  part  of  the  wood  they  are  some- 
times very  wide,  measuring,  for  instance,  as  much  as 
seven  millimetres.  Possibly,  therefore,  they  do  not 


SANTONICA  287 

correspond  to  one  year's  growth,  but  to  that  of  a  longer 
period.' 

"The  transverse  section,  examined  by  means  of  a  lens, 
displays  the  numerous  narrow  medullary  rays;  the  ves- 
sels are  partly  empty,  partly  loaded  with  yellow  resin. 
In  the  bright  yellowish  sapwood  both  vessels  and  med- 
ullary rays  are  less  distinct.  The  sapwood  is  scentless, 
whereas  the  heartwood,  especially  when  freshly  cut,  is 
in  a  high  degree  possessed  of  the  very  agreeable  and 
remarkably  persistent  odor  of  sandal."  (Dymock, 
Pharmacographia  Indica,  v.  3.) 

SANTONICA    (Wonnseed) 

First  mentioned  in  the  U.  S.  P.  of  I860,  it  remained  official 
until  1900.  In  the  edition  of  1910  the  drug  Santonica  is  replaced 
by  its  derivative,  Santoninum,  (Santonin).  The  official  source 
of  Santonica  is  the  Artemisia  pauciflora,  U.  S.  P.,  1910. 

The  "wormseeds"  are  widely  distributed  in  the  north- 
ern hemisphere  of  the  Old  World,  many  varieties  being 
familiar  to  botanists  and  subject  to  much  discussion. 
The  unopened  flowers  of  the  head  (wormseed)  are  col- 
lected in  quantities  on  the  vast  plains  or  steppes  in  the 
northern  part  of  Turkestan,  the  distributing  point 
being  the  renowned  fair  of  Nishni  Novgorod,  Russia, 
where,  July  15th  to  August  27th,  the  celebrated  ex- 
changes of  products  occur.  Wormseed,  however,  is 
found  in  the  Oriental  bazaars,  being  brought  for  native 
and  domestic  use  from  the  sections  of  country  named, 
or  from  Afghanistan  or  Caboul.  Dioscorides  (194) 
mentions  several  species  of  wormseed,  stating  that  the 
small  seeds  were  mixed  with  honey  and  employed  by 
the  people  as  a  remedy  for  ascarides.  Alexander  Tral- 


288  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

lianus  (11),  in  the  6th  century,  commended  this  drug 
as  a  remedy  for  intestinal  worms.  Saladinus,  1450, 
(570),  and  afterwards  several  authors  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury, as  Ruellius  (561)  and  Dodonseus  (195),  refer  to 
the  remedy  as  a  vermifuge  for  children.  Its  empirical 
use  in  domestic  medicine  is  maintained  to  the  present 
time,  and  from  this  source  its  anthelmintic  virtues 
were  learned  by  the  profession. 

SARSAPARILLA  (Sarsaparilla) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910.  which 
directs  the  root  of  Smilax  medico,  (Mexican  sarsaparilla),  or 
Smilax  officinalis,  or  an  undetermined  species  of  Smilax  (Hon- 
dura  sarsaparilla),  or  Smilax  ornata  (Jamaica  sarsaparilla). 

The  drug  sarsaparilla  is  furnished  by  the  root  of  a 
climbing  plant  of  the  genus  Smilax,  which  prevails  over 
the  northern  part  of  South  America,  the  whole  of  Cen- 
tral America,  and  the  west  coast  of  Mexico.  Many 
varieties  contribute  the  drug  of  commerce.  Its  qual- 
ities were  made  known  in  the  early  European  annals 
from  the  commendation  of  explorers  of  the  New  World. 
Monardes  (447)  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  it 
was  introduced  to  Seville  about  1536  from  "New 
Spain,"  but  that  a  different  variety  soon  followed  from 
Honduras.  The  "Chronicle  of  Peru,"  by  Pedro  de 
Cieze  de  Leon  (151)  1553,  mentions  sarsaparilla  as 
growing  in  South  America,  where  he  observed  it  be- 
tween 1533  and  1550.  It  was  recommended  as  a  cure 
for  syphilis  and  acute  rheumatism,  the  Spaniards  call- 
ing it  "an  excellent  medicine."  The  name  then  applied 
to  it  was  zarza  parilla,  afterward  becoming  sarsaparilla. 
Like  other  remedies  introduced  in  business  channels 
for  commercial  purposes  from  the  wonderful  New 


SASSAFRAS  289 

World,  sarsaparilla  enjoyed  a  marvelous  reputation, 
which  was  evidently  not  interfered  with  by  the  fact 
that  it  returned  great  profit  to  the  dealers.  A  small 
work  issued  by  Girolamo  Cardano  (123),  of  Milan, 
1559,  advocates  it  most  strongly  in  the  direction  of  the 
diseases  mentioned.  Sarsaparilla  found  its  way  into 
pharmaceutical  stores,  where  it  made  an  eventful  record 
as  a  new  remedy  from  the  New  World.  In  domestic 
medicine,  from  the  time  of  its  introduction,  a  decoction 
has  been  "authoritatively"  considered  serviceable  as  a 
"blood  purifier."  It  is  not  necessary  to  state  that  in 
the  form  of  a  sweetened  decoction,  syrup  of  sarsaparilla 
has,  through  several  decades,  enjoyed  continual  con- 
spicuity  in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia. 

SASSAFRAS  (Sassafras) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  U.  S.  P.  The  early  editions,  1820 
and  1828,  mention  "the  bark  of  the  root."  Beginning  with  1830, 
(New  York  ed.),  both  the  bark  and  the  pith  of  the  stem  are 
official  till  1900.  The  pith  is  dropped  in  1910.  The  U.  S.  P., 
1910,  directs  the  root  bark  of  Sassafras  variifolium. 

Sassafras  is  indigenous  to  the  Western  Hemisphere, 
occurring  in  Florida,  Virginia,  and  as  far  north  as  Can- 
ada. It  is  found  as  far  west  as  Kansas,  but  is  there 
very  scarce.  Its  occurrence  in  Brazil  is  recorded  by 
Piso,  1658,  (511).  Sassafras  was  in  medicinal  use 
among  the  natives  of  Florida  long  before  Ponce  de  Leon 
in  1512  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  that  peninsula.  It  is  gen- 
erally stated  and  believed  that  the  Spaniards  in  1538, 
which  is  the  date  of  De  Soto's  invasion  of  Florida,  were 
the  first  Europeans  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the  drug; 
yet  we  can  find  no  record  of  such  a  discovery  in  at  least 
two  narratives  of  this  expedition  accessible  to  us.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  seems  to  be  sufficient  evidence 


290  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

of  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  gained  a  knowledge  of 
sassafras  and  its  medicinal  virtues  through  the  French 
Huguenot  emigrants,  who  under  their  unfortunate 
leaders,  Jean  Ribault  and  Ren6  Laudonniere,  occupied 
Florida  between  the  years  1562  and  1564. 

To  the  Spanish  physician,  Nicolaus  Monardes  (447) 
of  Se villa,  in  1574,  is  to  be  credited  the  first  detailed 
description  of  sassafras  and  its  healing  virtues,  his  in- 
formation being  gained,  however,  not  from  actual 
experience  in  the  sassafras  lands,  but  from  personal  con- 
sultation with  travelers  and  from  the  government 
records  at  his  command.  (239).  From  Clusius'  (153) 
version  of  Monardes,  1593,  it  is  learned  that  the  drug 
was  imported  from  Florida  into  Spain  some  years  pre- 
vious to  1574,  that  the  Spaniards  in  Florida,  when  over- 
taken by  fevers  and  other  diseases  consequent  to 
miasma  and  unwholesome  drinking  water,  were  advised 
by  the  few  remaining  Frenchmen  to  use  this  drug, 
called  by  the  French  sassafras,  (for  reasons  unknown  to 
Monardes),  and  "pavame"  by  the  Indians  from  whom 
the  French  obtained  their  information.  Monardes  (in 
Clusius7  version)  adds  that  sassafras  grows  in  Florida 
in  "maritime  places,"  such  as  are  neither  too  dry  nor 
too  moist.  It  is  especially  plentiful  near  the  harbors 
of  St.  Helena  and  St.  Matthews,  forming  whole 
woods,  which  exhale  such  a  fragrance  (not  true  in 
the  experience  of  this  writer),  that  the  Spaniards 
who  first  landed  believed  the  tree  to  be  the  same  as 
the  cinnamon  tree  of  Ceylon. 

The  illustration  of  the  sassafras  tree  given  by  Mo- 
nardes has  been  widely  copied  in  the  herbals  of  the 
16th  and  17th  centuries,  among  which  we  name  Dale- 
champs  (1586),  (181),  Joh.  Bauhinus  (Bauhin,  47) 


SASSAFRAS  291 

(1650),  and  Piso  (1658)  (511),  the  latter  giving  it  the 
Brazilian  synonym  "anhuiba." 

Francisco  Hernandez  (314),  another  Spanish  physi- 
cian, who  traveled  through  Mexico  between  1571  and 
1577,  speaks  of  the  occurrence  of  sassafras  at  Mechuacan 
in  Mexico.  His  work  was  translated  by  Francisco 
Ximinez,  a  monk  of  the  convent  of  San  Domingo  in 
Mexico,  in  1615. 

The  latter  author  is  quoted  at  length  on  the  subject 
of  sassafras  by  Jean  de  Laet  (368),  a  noted  Dutch 
geographer,  whose  work,  "Novus  Orbis,  etc.,  1633," 
testifies  to  the  probably  French  origin  of  the  knowledge 
of  sassafras.  Having  taken  the  account  given  by  Lai>- 
donniere  as  his  source,  he  speaks,  in  Chapter  XIV,  con- 
cerning the  land  and  inhabitants  of  the  part  of  Florida 
traversed  by  the  French,  and  calls  attention  to  the  tree 
as  being  prominent  in  the  woods,  and  refers  to  the  ex- 
quisite odor  of  its  wood  and  bark.  He  says  that  this  tree 
is  called  "pavame"  by  the  Indians,  and  "sassafras"  by 
the  French. 

Professor  Fliickiger  remarks  (Pharmacognosie  des 
Pflanzenreich,  3d  ed.,  Berlin,  1891),  that  he  was  unable 
to  find  the  passage  alluded  to  in  Laudonniere's  own 
report  of  1586,  and  diligent  search  on  our  part  in  a  ver- 
batim reprint  of  this  work  of  1853  also  failed  to  produce 
the  passage.  The  term  "esquine"  occurring  therein 
might  have  been  the  passage  referred  to,  but  it  hardly 
stands  for  sassafras,  for  it  is  stated  (pp.  6  and  76)  that 
it  is  a  twining  vine,  good  against  pocks  (la  ve*role).  On 
page  133  a  root  is  mentioned  from  which  Indians  pro- 
duce flour  to  make  bread,  and  on  page  155  it  is  stated 
that  the  colonists  in  a  period  of  distress  used  the  wood 
of  this  "esquine"  to  make  flour  and  bread,  which  pre- 


292  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

eludes  sassafras  from  being  the  tree  referred  to.  How- 
ever, it  is  further  stated  (page  10)  that  in  councils  of 
war  and  peace  the  native  king  gathers  around  him  the 
priests  and  the  eldest  of  the  tribe,  and  that  they  drink 
from  the  same  vessel  a  decoction  quite  hot,  called  by 
them  "casing"  made  from  the  leaves  of  a  certain  tree. 
This  might  refer  to  sassafras,  for  the  further  statement 
is  made  that  this  potion  has  the  effect  of  causing  abun- 
dant sweats. 

It  must,  in  our  opinion,  with  due  deference  to  pre- 
ceding authorities,  be  mere  conjecture  as  to  whether  any 
of  their  descriptions  answer  to  sassafras. 

De  Laet  credits  Ximenez  with  the  statement  that 
sassafras  wood  has  the  property  of  rendering  sea  water 
potable,  as  experienced  by  Ximenez  on  a  voyage  from 
Florida  to  Vera  Cruz  in  1605. 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  sassafras  the  drug  was 
exported  to  Europe,  and  became  at  once  known  in 
Spain  and  France.  It  was  well  known  in  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main  as  early  as  1582,  and  in  Hamburg  in  1587, 
at  which  time  it  was  termed  lignum  pavanum  sen  flori- 
dum,  sen  xylomarathri  (fennel-wood)  (Fliickiger,  Am. 
Journ.  Phar.,  1876).  Sailing  expeditions  to  America 
were  undertaken  in  those  times  to  secure  the  wood  as 
well  as  the  root.  An  English  merchant,  Martin  Pring, 
is  recorded  by  Charles  Pickering  (510)  as  having  with 
two  small  vessels  arrived  on  the  American  coast  in  the 
beginning  of  June,  1603.  The  point  named  is  43  de- 
grees long,  and  44  degrees  north  lat.,  among  a  multi- 
tude of  islands.  Following  the  coast  south  in  search  of 
sassafras,  he  entered  a  large  sound,  and  on  the  north 
side  in  the  latitude  41  degrees  and  "odde"  minutes 
built  a  hut  and  enclosed  it  with  a  barricade,  where 


SASSAFRAS  293 

some  of  the  party  kept  guard,  while  others  collected 
sassafras  in  the  woods.  The  natives  were  treated  with 
kindness,  and  the  last  of  the  two  vessels  departed, 
freighted,  on  the  9th  of  August. 

In  connection  with  the  introduction  of  sassafras  root, 
we  present  the  following  interesting  record  from  the 
Calendars  of  State  Papers  of  the  Public  Record  Office, 
unearthed  by  Daniel  Hanbury  (Proc.  Am.  Phar. 
Assoc.,  1871,  p.  491) : 

"Instructions  for  suche  thinges  as  are  to  be  sente 
from  Virginia,  1610. 

"(!)•  Small  Sassafras  Rootes  to  be  drawn  in  the 
winter  and  dryed  and  none  to  be  medled  with  in  the 
somer  and  yt  is  worthe  50£  and  better,  p.  Tonne." 

And  yet,  the  exact  botanical  origin  of  sassafras  was 
unknown  to  the  writers  of  the  17th  century.  While 
they  were  well  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  foliage  and 
the  other  characteristics  of  the  tree,  the  flowers  and 
fruit  were  expressly  stated  to  be  unknown  to  such 
writers  as  Clusius  (153),  Monardes  (447),  1593,  Joh. 
Bauhinus  (47),  1650,  and  Piso  (511),  1658. 

Two  early  statements  concerning  the  fruit  may, 
however,  now  be  recorded : 

Caspar  Bauhinus  (48),  who  named  the  sassafras  tree 
"arbor  ex  Florida  ficulneo  folio,"  in  1623,  reports  that 
specimens  of  the  leaves  and  the  fruit  were  sent  to  him 
by  Dr.  Doldius,  of  Nuremberg.  He  describes  the 
fruit  as  oblong,  rugose,  and  attached  to  very  long 
pedicels. 

Likewise,  Jean  de  Laet  (368),  in  the  index  to  his  chap- 
ter on  sassafras,  requests  the  reader  to  insert  in  the 
text  that  the  fruits  of  this  tree  were  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  author  by  a  person  returning  from  Novo 


294  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Belgio,  and  adds  that  the  fruit  does  not  differ  much  in 
form  from  the  berries  of  the  laurel,  although  it  is  much 
smaller.  It  contains  a  white  nut  of  bitterish  taste, 
divided  into  two  parts. 

As  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  Plukenet  (514a),  as  late 
as  1691,  was  the  first  to  give  an  illustration  of  the  berry, 
which,  however,  is  faulty,  because  it  is  void  of  the  acorn- 
like  calyx.  The  trilobed  leaves  are  also  illustrated,  and 
the  botanical  name  affixed  to  it  by  Plukenet  is  "cornus 
mas  odorata,  foliis  trifido,  margine  piano,  sassafras 
dicta." 

Catesby  (130),  true  to  his  task  as  set  forth  in  the 
title  of  his  book  on  the  natural  history  of  Virginia,  etc., 
"to  correct  faulty  illustrations  of  plants  by  preceding 
authors,"  gives,  1731,  a  good  picture  of  sassafras, 
including  the  fruit  and  flowers. 

In  the  middle  and  later  part  of  the  18th  and  the 
earlier  part  of  the  19th  century,  sassafras  was  studied 
in  its  native  country  by  such  celebrated  travelers  as 
Peter  Kalm  (350),  J.  David  Schoepf  (582),  F.  A.  Mi- 
chaux  (433),  and  Fred.  Pursh  (528).  Peter  Kami's  ac- 
count, especially,  contains  many  points  of  interest. 

Regarding  the  botanical  nomenclature  of  sassafras, 
Linnaeus  in  1737  assigned  it  to  the  genus  laurus,  upon 
the  examination  of  a  specimen  of  the  flower  which 
proved  to  be  clearly  distinct  from  the  genus  cornus,  to 
which  Plukenet  had  assigned  it.  In  1758  he  gave  it 
the  name  Laurus  Sassafras.  The  botanical  name  sub- 
sequently underwent  the  following  changes: 

"Laurus  variifolia,  Salisbury. 

"Sassafrasofficinak,  Nees  v.  Esenbeck  and  Endlicher, 
1831. 

"Sassafras  Sassafras,  Karsten,  1880-1882. 


SASSAFRAS  295 

"Sassafras  variifolium  (Salisbury),  0.  Kuntze,  adopted 
in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia,  1890." 

The  boyhood  of  the  author  of  this  study  of  drugs  was 
spent  in  the  country  (in  Kentucky),  where  sassafras 
abounds.  He  records  as  follows: 

"I  do  not  remember  to  have  smelled  the  fragrance  of 
sassafras  trees,  mentioned  by  the  early  authorities,  un- 
less the  trees  were  broken  or  bruised.  I  have  at  all 
seasons  passed  through  thickets  of  trees,  young  and 
old,  and  am  sure  that  the  statement  that  the  fragrance 
is  wafted  far  out  to  sea  is  overdrawn,  as  I  observed  no 
odor  whatever,  and  am  satisfied  that  unbroken  sassa- 
fras exhales  no  aroma.  When  land  in  Kentucky  has 
been  'worked  poor/  and  turned  out  to  rest,  it  is  likely 
to  spring  up  in  thickets  of  sassafras,  persimmon,  and 
black  locust.  I  have  heard  old  farmers,  in  speaking  of  a 
farm,  say  it  was  'too  poor  to  raise  sassafras/  and  no 
greater  reflection  could  be  cast  on  that  land.  No 
special  value  is  put  on  sassafras  wood;  it  is  not  sought 
for  fence  posts,  nor  is  it  used  to  drive  away  insects  of 
any  description. 

"As  a  remedy,  the  root  bark  of  sassafras  is  used  in  the 
spring  to  'thin  the  blood/  a  decoction  from  this  being 
drunk  as  a  tea.  Indeed,  I  do  not  dislike  this  'tea'  as  a 
breakfast  beverage,  early  impressions  leading  me  now, 
occasionally,  to  procure  fresh  bark  for  a  family  brewing 
of  'sassafras  tea/  made  after  the  same  manner  in 
which  tea  is  prepared  as  a  beverage,  and  served  in  the 
same  way,  either  clear,  or  with  cream  and  sugar,  ac- 
cording to  taste.  That  sassafras  tea  was  a  very  com- 
mon beverage  in  my  boyhood  days,  is  shown  by  the 
following  incident: — I  was  traveling  up  the  Ohio  River 
on  one  of  the  palatial  steamers  of  other  days,  (1858). 


296  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

A  Kentuckian  at  my  side  ordered  tea.  The  waiter 
asked  'What  kind  of  tea?'  'Store  tea,'  he  answered. 
'I  kin  git  plenty  of  sassafrac  (colloquial — L.)  at  home!'  " 

It  is  not  customary  for  sassafras  drinkers  to  keep  the 
root-bark  separated  from  the  root,  the  recently  dug 
roots  being  shaved  as  the  bark  was  used.  Kentuckians 
claim  that  there  are  two  varieties  of  sassafras,  the  red 
and  the  white,  distinguished  only  by  the  bark.  The 
white  sassafras  is  not  so  aromatic  and  is  bitter  to  the 
taste.  In  Kentucky,  the  red  bark  only  is  used. 

In  addition  to  the  wood,,  root  and  bark,  mucilage  of 
the  pith  is  employed  in  domestic  medicine,  for  bathing 
inflamed  eyes.  A  comprehensive  description  of  the 
domestic -uses  of  sassafras  in  Rafinesque's  Medical  Flora, 
1830,  is  reproduced  as  a  fitting  ending  to  this  record  of 
sassafras: 

"Found  from  Canada  to  Mexico  and  Brazil.  Roots, 
bark,  leaves,  flowers,  fragrant  and  spicy.  Flavor  and  smell 
peculiar,  similar  to  fennel,  sweetish  sub-acrid,  residing 
in  a  volatile  oil  heavier  than  water.  The  sassafrine,  a 
peculiar  mucus  unalterable  by  alcohol,  found  chiefly  in 
the  twigs  and  pith,  thickens  water,  very  mild  and  lubri- 
cating, very  useful  in  ophthalmia,  dysentery,  gravel, 
catarrh,  etc.  Wood  yellow,  hard,  durable,  soon  loses 
the  smell,  the  roots  chiefly  exported  for  use  as  stimulant, 
antispasmodic,  sudorific,  and  depurative;  the  oil  now 
often  substituted ;  both  useful  in  rheumatism,  cutaneous 
diseases,  secondary  syphilis,  typhus  fevers,  etc.  Once 
used  in  dropsy.  The  Indians  use  a  strong  decoction  to 
purge  and  clean  the  body  in  the  spring;  we  use  instead 
the  tea  of  the  blossoms  for  a  vernal  purification  of  the 
blood.  The  powder  of  the  leaves  used  to  make  glutinous 
gombos.  Leaves  and  buds  used  to  flavor  some  beers  and 


SCAMMONIUM  297 

spirits.  Also  deemed  vulnerary  and  resolvent  chewed 
and  applied,  or  menagogue  and  corroborant  for  women 
in  tea;  useful  in  scurvy,  cachexy,  flatulence,  etc.  Bowls 
and  cups  made  of  the  wood;  when  fresh,  it  drives  bugs 
and  moths.  The  bark  dyes  wood  of  a  fine  orange  color 
called  'shikih'  by  Missouri  tribes,  and  smoked  like 
tobacco." 

SCAMMONIUM  (Scammony) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

The  dried  juice  of  scammony  (Convolvulus  Scam- 
monia)  has  been  used  in  domestic  medicine  from  an- 
cient times.  Theophrastus  (633),  300  B.  C.,  mentions 
it,  as  well  as  did  Dioscorides  (194),  Pliny  (514),  Celsus 
(136),  and  Rufus  of  Ephesus  (561a),  a  city  in  whose 
neighborhood  scammony  abounded,  as  is  yet  the  case, 
near  its  ruins.  The  early  Arabians  were  acquainted 
with  scammony,  and  it  was  used  in  Britain  in  the  10th 
and  llth  centuries,  being  commended  to  Alfred  the 
Great  by  Helias,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem.  Botanists  of 
the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  as  Brunfels  (107),  Gesner 
(264),  and  others,  described  the  plant,  as  well  as  the 
drug  obtained  therefrom,  the  latter  being  well  de- 
scribed by  Russell  (566),  an  English  physician  of 
Aleppo,  in  1752. 

Scammony  is  obtained  from  Asia  Minor  near  Smyrna, 
which  is  its  principal  port  of  export.  The  resin  of 
scammony,  in  the  form  of  a  dried  juice,  was  gathered  by 
means  of  sea  shells,  within  which  the  juice  collected  was 
dried,  a  method  of  obtaining  it  still  practiced  in  Asia 
Minor.  Mr.  Clark,  of  Sochia,  near  Smyrna,  obtained 
the  resin  as  an  alcoholic  extract  from  the  dried  root,  a 
method  of  production  now  in  use,  but  which  probably 


298  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

yields  a  product  different  from  the  natural  gum  (see 
Manna).  The  writer  of  this  study,  when  in  Smyrna, 
1906,  obtained  from  Mr.  Agop  Alpiar,  chemist  of 
A.  Keun  &  Company,  opium  merchants  of  that  city,  an 
authentic  specimen  of  pure  scammony.  This  is  now  in 
the  hands  of  Dr.  J.  P.  Snyder,  of  the  American  Drug 
Manufacturers'  Association,  Chairman  of  one  of  the 
research  committees  of  that  organization.  Scammony 
is  a  gift  of  the  Orient,  the  beginning  of  its  use  being  in 
home  medication. 

SCILLA  (Squill) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

This  bulbous  plant  (Urginea  maritimd),  is  broadly 
distributed  in  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
countries  neighboring,  in  the  south  of  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal, and  in  many  instances  is  found  far  inland,  even  to 
an  elevation  as  high  as  three  thousand  feet  above  sea 
level.  It  is  one  of  the  most  anciently  recorded  remedies, 
being  mentioned  by  Epimenides  (294),  a  Greek  writer 
of  the  7th  century  B.  C.,  who  made  such  use  of  it  that 
it  became  known  as  epimenidea.  Theophrastus  (633) 
mentions  it,  Pliny  (514)  notes  its  two  varieties.  Dios- 
corides  (194)  describes  the  making  of  vinegar  of  squills, 
whilst  preparations  of  squill  with  honey  were  familiar 
remedies  in  Arabian  medication.  The  forms  employed 
by  the  empiricists  of  those  remote  times  seem  not  to 
have  been  improved  upon  by  the  pharmacy  of  even  the 
present  day;  indeed,  pharmacal  attempts  to  improve 
the  aqueous  or  acetous  squill  simples  of  ancient  home 
medication  by  alcoholic  extracts  and  tinctures  have,  in 
the  opinion  of  this  writer,  resulted  in  failure. 


SCOPOLA  299 

SCOPARIUS  (Broom) 

Introduced  into  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1840,  but  in  this  and  the  suc- 
ceeding edition,  (1850),  it  occupied  a  place  in  the  Secondary  List. 
It  was  transferred  to  the  Primary  List  in  I860,  and  was  official 
thereafter.  Dropped  from  1910  edition. 

This  woody  shrub,  Cytisus  Scoparius,  or  common 
broom,  prevails  throughout  Great  Britain  and  western 
and  temperate  Northern  Europe,  but  it  seems  not  to 
climb  to  any  great  height  on  the  mountains  of  the  Alps. 
According  to  Ledebour  (375)  it  is  native  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Ural  Mountains.  Scoparius  is  mentioned  in 
the  earliest  Italian  and  German  herbals  under  the  name 
genista,  and  under  the  name  broom  it  was  used  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  medicine  as  well  as  in  the  Welsh  "Meddygon 
Myddfai"  (507).  The  London  Pharmacopeia,  1618, 
gave  a  place  to  scoparius,  and  Gerarde  (262)  states 
that  Henry  VIII  used  it  as  a  remedy  "against  surfets 
and  diseases  thereof  arising."  Broom  also  enjoyed  a 
reputation  in  other  directions,  being  the  emblem  of 
"The  Handsome"  Geoffrey,  or  "Plantagenet"  Count 
of  Anjou,  ancestor  of  the  Plantagenet  kings  of  England, 
who  wore  the  common  broom  of  his  country,  the 
"planta  genista,"  in  his  helmet.  In  the  Pharmacopeia 
of  the  United  States,  scoparius  seems,  like  other  estab- 
lished foreign  drugs,  to  have  heired  its  reputation  and 
obtained  its  position  from  past  records  in  medieval 
European  or  Oriental  times,  and  not  from  any  marked 
use  it  has  enjoyed  in  American  medicine. 

SCOPOLA  (Scopola) 

Scopola  enjoyed  but  a  brief  season  of  pharmacopeial  favor. 
It  was  introduced  in  the  1900  edition,  along  with  its  alkaloid, 
Scppolamine  Hydrobrpmide.  The  latter  was  retained  in  the  1910 
edition,  but  the  drug  itself  was  dropped. 

The  root  of  Scopola  carniolica  is  now  official,  and  in 
the  making  of  the  mydriatic  alkaloids,  it  may  be  sub- 


300  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

stituted  for  belladonna.  Although  of  recent  introduc- 
tion in  scientific  pharmacy,  it  has  an  interesting 
botanical  record,  reaching  back  to  Matthioli  (414),  who 
named  it  Solanum  somniferum  alterum. 

This  historical  record  of  scopola  is  made  complete  by 
that  unexcelled  authority,  E.  M.  Holmes,  of  London, 
whose  paper  is  published  in  full  in  the  Pharmaceutical 
Journal  and  Transactions,  London,  Dec.  14,  1889,  pp. 
468-471.  The  name  by  which  it  is  now  recognized  was 
given  to  it  by  Jacquin  (388a),  in  honor  of  Dr.  Johann 
Anton  Scopoli,  professor  of  botany  in  the  University  of 
Pa  via,  who,  in  1760,  published  his  discovery  of  the  plant 
under  the  name  Atropa  caule  herbaceo.  Many  are  the 
names  since  affixed  to  it,  regarding  which  Mr.  Holmes 
remarks  as  follows:  " Jacquin '«  name  has  unfortunately 
been  several  times  altered  by  succeeding  botanists." 

The  historical  treatise  of  Holmes  was  briefly  con- 
densed by  Professor  Maisch  (40 la),  as  follows: 

"The  Natural  History  of  Scopola  carniolica  (Jacquin) 
gives  a  complete  history  of  the  synonyms  of  this  plant, 
commencing  with  Matthioli,  who  in  1563  named  it 
Solanum  somniferum  alterum.  It  was  further  described 
in  1622  by  Caspar  Bauhin  under  the  name  of  Solanum 
somniferum  bacciferum;  in  1651  by  J.  Bauhin  as  Solanum 
manicum,  'quod  secundo  loco  proponuimus;'  in  1760 
by  J.  A.  Scopoli,  Professor  of  Botany  at  Pavia,  as 
Atropa  caule  herbaceo  foliis  ovatis,  integris,  fructu  capsu- 
lari;  in  1764  by  Moench  as  Scopola  trichotoma;  in  the 
same  year  by  Schultes  as  Scopolina  atropoides;  in  1821 
by  Link  as  Scopolia  atropoides;  and  in  1837  by  G.  Don 
as  Scopolia  carniolica. 

"The  generic  name  Scopolia  had  been  applied  in  1763 
by  Adanson  for  what  is  now  Ricotia,  Lin.,  Cruciferce; 


ROSA  GALLICA,  Page  272  (No.  1) 

Upper.    OLIVE  ORCHARD,  ON  ROAD  TO  BRUSSA,  NEAR  MOUNT 
OLYMPUS 

Lower.    AGED  OLIVE  TREES  (Near  Mt.  Olympus,  Brussa,  Turkey) 

Photographed  by  Mrs.  John  Uri  Lloyd. 


SCUTELLARIA  301 

in  1776  by  Forster  for  what  is  now  Griselinia,  Forst., 
Cornacece;  in  1781  by  Linnaeus  fil.,  for  what  is  now 
Daphne,  Lin.,  Thymelacece;  in  1790  by  Smith  for  what  is 
now  Toddalia,  Juss.,  Rutacece. 

"Jacquin's  name  for  the  plant  being  the  first  binomial 
one  published  after  the  date  of  the  first  edition  of  Lin- 
naeus' Species  Plantarum  in  1753,  should  supersede 
the  later  names  given  by  others.  This  author  repeat- 
edly writes  'Scopola'  (not  Scopolia)  in  his  published 
work." 

This  plant,  scopola,  possessing  so  much  energy,  was 
naturally  known  to  the  early  herbalists,  but  was  most 
cautiously  employed  by  them.  Wier,  1515-1588,  men- 
tioned it,  (MaiscJi)  (40 la),  but  it  was  then  forgotten 
until  Dr.  Lippich,  of  Padua,  1834-7,  used  it  instead  of 
belladonna.  The  record  shows  that  in  Southern  Eu- 
rope, (Martins,  1832),  (410a)  the  leaves  were  used  in 
the  same  way  as  belladonna.  Kosteletzky,  1832, 
(36 la),  states  that  it  has  the  narcotic  qualities  of 
hyoscyamus.  Neither  in  domestic  nor  in  professional 
medicine  had  scopola  any  reputation  worth  mentioning 
until  after  1880,  when  its  alkaloidal  record  and  its  many 
complications  as  a  sophisticant  for  belladonna  made 
such  an  event  in  pharmacy  and  chemistry  as  to  give 
the  plant  a  position  in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopeia  of  1900. 

SCUTELLARIA  (Skullcap,  Mad-dog  Herb) 

Introduced  into  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1860,  but  occupied  a  place  in 
the  Secondary  List  in  this  and  the  following  edition,  1870.  It 
was  wholly  official  from  1880  to  1900,  but  was  then  dropped,  not 
appearing  in  the  1910  edition. 

PARTS  USED. — The  leaves  and  twigs  of  Scutellaria 
lateriflora. 

The  record  of  this  American  drug  is  so  remarkable, 


302  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

for  several  reasons,  as  to  lead  this  reviewer  to  accept 
that,  in  justice  to  the  problem  as  a  whole,  unusual  atten- 
tion is  needful  in  its  direction.  He  therefore  devotes  to 
it  more  space  than  usual,  and  even  then  he  appreciates 
that  he  but  faintly  presents  the  story  of  this  drug. 

Like  some  others,  (Chionanthus  for  example),  this 
plant  was  introduced  for  one  purpose  which  was  later 
lost  to  sight,  other  uses  becoming  conspicuous.  Thus 
coca  was  introduced  as  a  stimulant  and  considered  as  a 
substitute  for  tea  and  coffee;  abandoned  as  inert  by  no 
less  an  authority  than  Dr.  E.  R.  Squibb,  an  alkaloid 
of  it,  cocaine,  was  next  found  to  possess  most  remark- 
able qualities  as  a  local  anesthetic. 

Before  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  first  Amer- 
ican Materia  Medica,  by  Schoepf,  in  1785,  Dr.  Law- 
rence Van  Derveer,  of  Roysfield,  New  Jersey,  to  whom 
may  be  given  the  credit  of  its  introduction,  used  scutel- 
laria  in  his  practice,  believing  it  to  be  of  exceeding  value 
as  a  remedy  for  hydrophobia.  Dr.  Van  Derveer  has 
been  charged  with  keeping  his  remedy  a  secret,  but 
although  he  became  celebrated  as  an  expert  in  treating 
the  disease,  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  he  ever 
kept  the  name  of  the  drug  private.  For  forty  years  he 
had  a  widely  extended  neighborhood  reputation  as  a 
specialist  in  hydrophobia,  during  which  time  he  treated 
as  many  as  four  hundred  persons  (an  average  of  ten  a 
year),  with  but  one  death. 

Nor  need  we  look  with  suspicion  upon  the  large  num- 
ber of  cases  of  hydrophobia  said  to  have  been  treated 
by  Dr.  Van  Derveer.  Statistics  from  the  most  reliable 
sources  show  that  hydrophobia  was  either  very  common 
a  century  ago,  or  the  scare  over  it  widely  disseminated. 
In  our  early  life  in  Kentucky  we  continually  heard  of 


SCUTELLARIA  303 

deaths  from  this  cause,  and  knew  of  frequent  rabies  in 
our  neighborhood.  The  disease  is  one  demanding  im- 
mediate medication.  No  risk  of  time,  remedy  or  phy- 
sicians will  be  taken  by  any  one,  and  it  is  likely  that 
each  person  bitten  by  a  questionable  dog,  and  knowing 
Dr.  Van  Derveer's  reputation  for  treating  the  disease, 
would  make  every  effort  to  secure  his  personal  services. 
The  rule  of  seeking  a  therapeutic  expert  holds  good  to- 
day. In  recent  years  (1908) ,  two  persons  bitten  by  a  mad 
dog  in  Florence,  Kentucky,  went  at  once  to  Chicago  to 
receive  authoritative  "serum"  treatment,  both  of  whom, 
however,  died  of  hydrophobia,  as  recorded  by  Dr.  W.  M. 
Corey,  of  that  town,  who  accompanied  these  patients 
to  Chicago,  where  they  received  the  Pasteur  treatment, 
with  which  the  profession  is  familiar.  Let  us  now  revert 
to  the  literature  connecting  scutellaria  with  the  dreaded 
disease,  hydrophobia. 

SCUTELLARIA  IN  HYDROPHOBIA. — In  1812,  Dr.  James 
Thacher  (631),  who  served  as  surgeon  through  the  Rev- 
olutionary War,  locating  then  in  Plymouth,  Massachu- 
setts, issued  a  book  of  301  pages  titled: 

"Observations  on  Hydrophobia,  produced  by  the  bite 
of  a  mad  dog  or  other  rabid  animal,  with  an  examination 
of  the  various  theories  and  methods  of  cure  existing  at 
the  present  day,  and  an  inquiry  into  the  merit  of  Spe- 
cific Remedies.  Also  a  Method  of  Treatment  best 
adapted  to  the  Brute  Creation." 

In  this  book,  whose  frontispiece  carried  the  illustra- 
tion of  Scutellaria  lateriflora,  Dr.  Thacher  considers  in 
detail  the  history  and  pathology  of  hydrophobia,  as  well 
as  the  various  theories  that  have  prevailed  concerning 
its  origin  and  distribution,  together  with  discussions 
from  such  eminent  authorities  as  Boerhaave,  Hunter, 


304  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Darwin,  Rush,  Cullen,  Physick,  Coxe,  etc.  These  were 
analytical  and  discursive,  involving  the  cause,  progress 
and  treatment  of  the  disease.  But  though  very  interest- 
ing, they  are  not  here  relevant. 

Chapters  XIII  and  XIV  of  Thacher's  book  deal  with 
the  many  nostrum  cures  for  hydrophobia  that  have 
been  celebrated  both  popularly  and  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession, such  as  "the  liver  of  the  mad  dog  broiled," 
"cray  fish  burnt  with  twigs  of  bryony,"  the  famous 
"East  India  Remedy,"  "Sir  George  Cobb's  powder,"  the 
famed  "Pulvis  Antilyssus"  of  Dr.  Mead,  the  renowned 
"Omskirk  medicine,"  and  a  host  of  such  that  had  their 
day  and  passed  into  disrepute.  Among  these  was 
"Grouse's  Remedy,"  once  so  celebrated  as  to  have  in- 
duced the  New  York  Legislature,  1806,  to  purchase  the 
formula,  for  which  it  paid  one  thousand  dollars.  It  was 
found  to  be  as  follows: 

"Jawbone  of  a  dog,  bruised  and  powdered,  one  ounce; 
false  tongue  of  a  newly-foaled  colt,  dried  and  powdered, 
one  ounce;  verdigris  on  an  old  copper  coin  (coinage  of 
George  I  or  II  preferred),  one  scruple.  Mix  the  ingredi- 
ents and  give  a  teaspoonful  at  a  dose." 

Seventeen  pages  of  Thacher's  book  are  devoted  to  the 
record  of  scutellaria,  in  which  the  names  of  Dr.  Van 
Derveer,  "a  physician  of  eminence  in  New  Jersey,"  and 
the  "Lewis's"  use  of  scutellaria  play  an  important  part. 
Out  of  a  large  number  of  cases  but  one  failure  was  re- 
ported, that  of  a  Dr.  Bartlett,  who  began  the  use  of  the 
drug  eight  or  ten  days  after  several  animals  were  bitten, 
six  of  which  died  of  hydrophobia.  This  lapse  of  time  led 
Dr.  Thacher  to  say: 

"The  facts  offered  by  Dr.  Bartlett,  although  deserving 
of  serious  consideration,  are  not  to  beiaccounted  sufficient 


SCUTELLARIA  305 

to  countervail  the  copious  mass  of  evidence  from  un- 
questionable sources,  which  has  been  exhibited." 

In  summing  up,  Dr.  Thacher,  who  had  condemned 
all  the  so-called  "cures,"  and  all  other  remedies  named, 
writes  of  scutellaria: 

"Since  the  plant  is  not  known  to  possess  properties 
inimical  to  the  constitution,  it  merits  the  most  persever- 
ing examination  and  trial  in  every  instance,  in  either 
the  human  subject  or  brute  creation.  Every  con- 
sideration therefore  conspires  to  urge  the  employment 
of  this  article,  and  the  result  of  every  experiment  ought 
to  be  promptly  promulgated." 

From  the  date  of  Thacher 's  publication  (1812)  to  the 
present  time,  1920,  scutellaria  has  not  commanded 
much  attention  either  in  the  press  or  from  the  medical 
profession  of  the  Eastern  states.  Except  to  the  casual 
student,  the  remarkable  record  of  the  drug  has  been 
completely  lost. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  scutellaria,  we  find  that 
Lyman  Spalding,  M.  D.,  in  1819,  read  a  lengthy  and 
detailed  paper  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society 
on  the  "History  and  Use  of  Scutellaria  Lateriflora  in 
Hydrophobia."  This  was  soon  afterward  published  in 
pamphlet  form  of  thirty  pages,  carrying  as  its  frontis- 
piece the  illustration  of  Dr.  Thacher.  Its  title  page 
was: 

"A  History  of  the  Introduction  and  Use  of  Scutel- 
laria Lateriflora  (Scullcap),  as  a  Remedy  for  Preventing 
and  Curing  Hydrophobia,  Occasioned  by  the  Bite  of 
Rabid  Animals;  with  Cases;  accompanied  with  a  plate 
of  the  plant,  by  Lyman  Spalding,  M.  D.  Read  before 
the  New  York  Historical  Society,  September  14,  1819, 
New  York.  Fruited  by  William  Treadwell,  and  for  sale 


306  PHARMACOPEIAS  DRUGS 

by  Collins  &  Co.,  No.  189  Pearl  Street,  and  J.  B.  Jansen, 
No.  15  Chatham  Street.    1819." 

After  giving  Dr.  Van  Derveer  credit  for  being  "The 
first  person,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  who 
used  Scutellaria  as  a  preventive  of  hydrophobia  from 
the  bite  of  rabid  animals,"  Dr.  Spalding  disposes  of  the- 
charges  of  any  secrecy  as  concerns  the  drug  by  Dr.  Van 
Derveer: 

"On  a  reference  to  the  many  nostrums  which  have 
been  celebrated  for  preventing  hydrophobia,  we  do  not 
find  that  Scutellaria  had  been  used  either  in  Virginia,  or 
in  any  other  place,  previous  to  its  employment  by  the 
doctor.  Our  inquiries  do  not  lead  us  to  believe  that  he 
kept  his  remedy  a  profound  secret,  although  he  has  been 
accused  of  so  doing  by  many;  but  so  much  the  medical 
men  despise  what  they  consider  vulgar  specifics,  and  so 
little  faith  do  the  public  place  in  them,  that  this  remedy 
for  forty  years  was  scarcely  known  or  heard  of  beyond 
the  doctor's  immediate  circle  of  practice.  It  was  from 
these  circumstances  that  no  one  had  the  curiosity  to 
ask  this  gentleman  how  he  came  by  a  knowledge  of  the 
antidotal  powers  of  Scutellaria.  From  the  upright, 
unassuming  character  of  Dr.  Van  Derveer,  his  correct 
moral  deportment,  and  regular  medical  standing,  we 
are  led  to  believe  that  he  would  as  frankly  have  com- 
municated the  source  of  his  information,  as  the  remedies 
used. 

"Among  the  many  persons  to  whom  he  communicated 
a  knowledge  of  his  remedies  may  be  numbered  Drs. 
Morris,  Kinney,  Little,  Henry,  and  Bloomfield  of  the 
Revolutionary  Army;  Dr.  Henry  Schenck,  Sen.  Daniel 
Lewis,  and  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer." 

This,  in  our  opinion,  together  with  the  evidence 


SCUTELLARIA  307 

given  by  Mr.  Daniel  Lewis,  to  whom  he  taught  the  use 
of  the  drug,  and  by  his  son,  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer, 
fully  relieves  Dr.  Van  Derveer  from  the  charge  of  drug 
secrecy. 

Next  comes  the  statement  that  Dr.  Van  Derveer 
treated  over  four  hundred  persons,  but  two  dying.  For 
one  of  these  Dr.  Van  Derveer  disclaimed  responsibility: 

"Dr.  Van  Derveer  was  called  to  visit  a  young  woman 
living  near  Rahway  in  New  Jersey,  who  had  been  at- 
tended by  another  physician,  and  in  whom  hydrophobic 
symptoms  had  so  far  advanced  before  Dr.  Van  Derveer 
saw  her,  as  in  his  opinion  to  preclude  all  human  aid. 
She  took  the  Scutellaria,  but  it  did  not  cure  the  disease. 
She  died  rabid.  The  doctor  was  of  opinion  that  several 
persons  for  whom  he  prescribed  his  remedy  in  the  early 
part  of  his  practice  had  some  of  the  symptoms  of  hydro- 
phobia, and  that  they  were  removed  by  a  free  use  of 
the  plant." 

That  Thacher  accepted  the  estimate  of  Dr.  Van  Der- 
veer, is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  his  Dispensatory  he 
states  that  out  of  four  hundred  treated,  but  one  died. 

Comes  now  the  ever  suggestive  question,  whether  the 
scutellaria  effected  the  cure,  or  whether  the  animals 
and  people  treated  would  have  recovered  without  it. 
This  problem  is  disposed  of  somewhat  after  the  phys- 
iological methods  of  today  to  determine  a  drug's  cura- 
tive value,  excepting  that,  instead  of  injecting  animals 
in  health  to  obtain  a  standard  in  disease  expression, 
Dr.  Van  Derveer's  process  was  to  medicate  afflicted 
creatures,  and  contrast  them  with  the  results  noted  in  a 
similar  number  of  animals  not  medicated. 

For  example:  The  physiological  prover  of  today  inoc- 
ulates an  animal  in  health  with  a  given  remedy,  to  de- 


308  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

termine  the  potency  of  that  drug  with  a  human  being 
afflicted  by  disease.  Dr.  Van  Derveer  antidoted 
(treated)  animals  inoculated  with  hydrophobia  poison, 
to  determine  whether  the  remedy  could  cure  the  af- 
flicted animals,  or  could  abort  or  counteract  (neutralize) 
the  virus,  providing  it  had  not  begun  its  action.  He 
reasoned  that  if  a  substance  (mad  dog  virus)  killed  a 
number  of  animals  inoculated  with  it,  either  by  the 
bite  of  a  rabid  animal  or  by  injection,  the  virus  was  a 
poison.  If  a  number  of  bitten  animals  were  not  medi- 
cated and  died,  whilst  others  inoculated  in  the  same 
way,  at  the  same  time,  and  then  treated  with  scutel- 
laria  recovered,  he  argued  that  the  drug  antidoted  the 
poison.  Let  us  quote  from  Dr.  Spalding: 

"Dr.  Van  Derveer  made  more  than  an  hundred  ex- 
periments on  the  antidotal  powers  of  the  scullcap,  in 
each  of  which  the  remedy  was  given  to  a  part  of  the 
bitten  animals,  none  of  which  were  afflicted  with  hydro- 
phobia; but  in  every  instance  some  of  the  animals  which 
did  not  take  the  scullcap  died  rabid." 

Concerning  the  number  treated,  we  have  the  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer,  son  of  Dr.  Law- 
rence Van  Derveer,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Spalding.  He 
says: 

"It  is  impossible  to  determine  to  what  number  of 
animals  my  father  gave  the  scullcap.  I  should,  how- 
ever, say  that  it  was  not  less  than  one  thousand,  and 
in  no  instance  has  an  animal  to  which  he  gave  the  plant 
died  of  hydrophobia.  In  more  than  an  hundred  cases 
my  father  experimented  with  the  Scutellaria,  and  he  has 
repeatedly  told  his  medical  brethren  that  each  experi- 
ment was  successful,  and  tended  to  establish  the  anti- 
dotal powers  of  the  plant." 


SCUTELLARIA  309 

Having  now  established  the  essentials  concerning  the 
introduction  of  scutellaria,  let  us  briefly  give  a  few  ab- 
stracts illustrating  the  manner  in  which  evidence  was 
established  a  century  ago,  to  demonstrate  the  drug's 
antidotal  power.  In  all  cases,  the  most  detailed  infor- 
mation, such  as  dates,  localities,  authorities,  publica- 
tions, etc.,  were  recorded,  as  well  as  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  under  oath. 

By  Dr.  Henry  Schenck,  Shannock  Hills,  New  Jersey. — 
"In  the  year  1777,  two  black  persons  and  five  hogs  be- 
longing to  Mr.  James  Van  Derveer,  of  that  county, 
were  bitten  by  a  mad  dog.  Dr.  Van  Derveer  prescribed 
the  Scutellaria,  which  was  administered  by  our  inform- 
ant to  the  two  blacks  and  to  four  of  the  hogs,  neither  of 
which  had  any  symptoms  of  hydrophobia;  but  the  fifth 
hog,  which  was  the  least  injured,  and  which  did  not 
take  the  plant,  died  in  a  rabid  state  about  the  19th  day 
after  the  accident.  This  experiment,  made  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  testing  the  antidotal  powers  of  the 
scullcap,  was  witnessed  by  Drs.  Morris,  Kinney,  Little, 
Henry,  and  Bloomfield,  who  considered  it  as  having  been 
satisfactorily  conducted." 

By  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer  and  Dr.  John  Vancleve,  of 
Princeton,  New  Jersey:  "About  the  year  1814,  seven 
cattle  belonging  to  George  Schenk,  Redington,  Hun- 
terdon  County,  New  Jersey,  were  bitten  by  a  mad  dog. 
The  scullcap  was  given  to  six  of  them,  neither  of  which 
had  any  indisposition,  but  the  seventh,  which  did  not 
take  the  plant,  died  of  hydrophobia  three  or  four  weeks 
after  it  was  bitten. 

"Of  seven  cattle  bitten  by  a  mad  dog,  in  six  treated 
no  indication  of  hydrophobia  appeared.  The  one  not 
treated  died  of  rabies." 


310  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer,  who  succeeded  his  father, 
reports: 

"Seven  persons  were  bitten  by  a  puppy  that  showed 
indications  of  hydrophobia.  Six  were  put  in  charge  of  a 
physician,  treated  with  Scutellaria,  and  recovered.  The 
seventh  did  not  take  treatment,  and  died  fourteen  days 
afterward  of  hydrophobia. 

"Three  persons  in  one  family,  and  two  cows  were 
bitten.  Two  persons  came  at  once  to  Dr.  Van  Derveer, 
took  Scutellaria  treatment  immediately,  and  recovered. 
The  third  went  to  another  physician,  in  seventeen  days 
was  stricken  with  symptons  of  hydrophobia,  and  sent 
for  Dr.  Van  Derveer,  who  at  once  administered  'a  very 
strong  infusion  of  Scutellaria,  which  the  patient  drank 
in  as  large  quantities  as  his  stomach  would  retain.  In 
thirty-six  hours  all  symptoms  vanished.'  Both  the 
cows  died. 

"A  man,  two  hogs,  and  two  cattle,  were  bitten  by  a 
mad  dog.  Scutellaria  was  given  the  man  and  one  hog. 
Both  recovered.  The  other  animals  died  of  hydro- 
phobia. 

"A  negro  girl,  four  hogs  and  a  cow  were  bitten.  Scutel- 
laria was  given  the  girl  and  one  hog.  Both  recovered. 
The  other  animals  died  of  hydrophobia." 

By  Mr.  Lewis,  North  Castle,  New  York,  (who  obtained 
the  remedy  from  Dr.  Lawrence  Van  Derveer) :  "A  num- 
ber of  hogs  that  had  been  bitten  by  a  mad  dog  were 
divided  into  two  groups.  To  one  group  Scutellaria  was 
administered.  All  recovered.  The  others  all  died." 

Another  report  is  as  follows:  "Stephen W.Williams, 
M.  D.,  and  his  father,  both  of  Deerfield,  Mass.,  have 
prescribed  the  Scutellaria  for  about  thirty  persons,  and 
for  forty  or  fifty  brutes  which  had  been  bitten,  and  in 


SCUTELLARIA  3H 

no  instance  did  hydrophobia  appear.  In  the  doctor's 
letter  to  me  of  the  13th  of  August,  1819,  he  says:  'A 
Mr.  Williams,  of  Heath,  in  this  county,  had,  in  the 
autumn  of  1813,  a  valuable  cow  and  an  ox  bitten  at  the 
same  time  by  a  mad  fox.  He  applied  to  us  for  the  Scu- 
tellaria.  We  had  only  enough  for  one  animal.  He 
prized  his  cow  more  highly  than  his  ox,  and  was  very 
anxious  to  save  her.  He  therefore  gave  the  whole  of 
the  scullcap  to  his  cow,  and  suffered  the  ox  to  take  his 
chance  without  any  medicament.  The  ox  died,  exhib- 
iting the  aggravated  symptoms  of  hydrophobia,  while 
the  cow  had  no  indisposition.'  " 

Statements  by  recognized  authorities,  in  the  press 
and  in  magazines,  finally  became  so  abundant  in  sup- 
port of  scutellaria  in  hydrophobia  as,  if  the  disease  was 
authentic,  to  seem  incontrovertible.  Two  detailed  re- 
ports given  by  Thacher,  by  Dr.  Fisk,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  by  Dr.  Robson,  of  New  York,  are  too  detailed  for 
even  summarizing. 

FAILURES. — As  recorded  by  Spalding,  but  one  man 
reports  a  failure  with  the  scutellaria  antidote.  He  says : 

"A  child  bitten  was  faithfully  dosed  with  the  infusion 
twice  daily,  but  died  on  the  30th  day."  (New  York 
Medical  Repository,  New  Series,  Vol.  1,  p.  175). 

Reported  by  Lewis  Bartlett  to  Dr.  Thacher,  (Thacher 
on  Hydrophobia,  1812),  "Nine  hogs  were  bitten  by  a 
mad  dog,  treated  with  Scutellaria,  six  died." 

These  are  the  only  cases  of  failure  reported  by  Dr. 
Spalding,  out  of  more  than  850  persons,  and  a  large 
number  of  animals,  treated  with  scutellaria.  Dr.  Spald- 
ing sums  up  the  whole  subject  as  follows: 

"We  have  then  the  foregoing  testimony  that  the 
Scutellaria  has  been  used  by  more  than  eight  hundred 


312  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

and  fifty  persons,  bitten  by  animals  believed  to  be  rabid; 
and  in  only  three  instances  have  symptoms  supposed  to 
be  hydrophobic  supervened,  and  in  each  of  these  cases 
the  quantity  of  the  plant  actually  taken  was  very  in- 
considerable. In  two  of  them  the  symptoms  dis- 
appeared on  taking  more  freely  of  the  medicine. 

"Furthermore,  the  Scutellaria  is  said  to  have  been 
administered  to  more  than  eleven  hundred  brutes, 
bitten  by  animals  supposed  to  be  rabid,  and  in  no  in- 
stance have  any  symptoms  of  madness  appeared,  ex- 
cepting in  the  cases  communicated  by  Dr.  Bartlett. 

"In  more  than  one  hundred  instances  it  is  said  that 
experiments  have  been  made  to  test  the  antidotal 
powers  of  this  plant,  by  giving  it  to  a  part,  only,  of  the 
animals  bitten,  and  it  is  stated  that  in  every  experiment, 
those  animals  which  did  not  take  the  Scutellaria  have 
died  rabid;  but  in  no  instance  have  any  of  those  which 
took  it  had  any  indisposition." 

SCUTELLABIA     AS     A     SECRET     REMEDY. — NOW  Came 

the  popular,  newspaper  era  of  the  drug.  In  the  year 
1783  Mr.  Daniel  Lewis,  of  North  Castle,  New  York,  a 
weaver,  was  bitten  by  a  mad  dog.  He  went  to  New 
York  for  treatment,  and  was  directed  to  Dr.  Van  Der- 
veer  of  New  Jersey.  Dr.  Van  Derveer  showed  Mr. 
Lewis  the  plant,  and  by  giving  him  written  directions, 
taught  him  how  to  use  it.  Mr.  Lewis  recovered,  and 
having  the  formula,  next  told  his  neighbors  that  he 
could  cure  hydrophobia,  and  began  neighborhood  treat- 
ment, acquiring  thus  a  local  reputation.  He  kept  the 
name  of  the  plant  secret,  using  it  only  in  form  of  powder, 
and  acquainting  only  his  son  with  the  formula.  At  his 
death,  1810,  he  had  treated  successfully  about  one  hun- 
dred persons.  A  record  of  these  cases  is  given  by 


SCUTELLARIA  313 

Dr.  Spalding,  accompanied  by  names,  dates,  places  of 
residence,  and  often  by  certificates  from  witnesses.  But 
in  it  all,  seemingly,  no  mention  was  made  of  the  treat- 
ment being  identical  with  that  of  Dr.  Van  Derveer, 
from  whom  it  was  obtained,  and  who,  as  is  recorded, 
did  not  make  any  secret  of  the  name  of  the  herb,  giving 
it  freely  to  whoever  asked  for  it. 

Before  the  death  of  Lewis  the  elder,  the  "Lewis 
Secret  Cure"  for  hydrophobia  became  celebrated  far 
and  near,  and  it  also  became  known  to  some  persons 
that  the  remedy  employed  was  identical  with  that  of 
Dr.  Van  Derveer. 

Scutellaria,  about  1809,  came  into  popular  as  well  as 
newspaper  notoriety  as  a  cure  for  hydrophobia,  one  of 
the  first  notices  in  print  being  a  letter  to  Mr.  Robert 
Bowne,  a  celebrated  philanthropist  of  New  York  City, 
published  in  the  Sakm  Gazette,  Sept.  15,  1809.  The 
writer  credits  the  Lewises  with  the  secret  cure,  and 
states  that  the  drug  has  been  proven  to  be  scutellaria, 
the  identification  being  made  as  follows: 

"The  remedy  he  made  use  of  is  nothing  more  than  a 
plant  that  grows  in  the  fresh  meadows  of  our  country. 
The  botanic  name  of  it  is  Scutellaria  galericulata.1 
This  plant  Lewis  used  to  gather,  dry  it  and  reduce  it 
to  a  powder,  in  order  to  prevent  a  discovery  of  what  it 
actually  was.  It  was  found  out  by  a  person  who  ob- 
tained some  of  it  in  a  powdered  state;  observing  seeds 
in  it,  he  placed  them  in  his  garden,  where  they  came 
to  perfection." 

Following  this,  Mr.  Coleman,  editor  of  the  New  York 
Evening  Post,  published  corroborative  editorial  testi- 
mony: 

>  An  error.    The  plant  is  S.  lateriflora. 


314  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

"He  himself  had  been  witness  of  the  cure  of  hydro- 
phobia by  the  use  of  this  plant  alone,  and  that  there  are 
a  number  of  gentlemen  of  the  most  respectable  charac- 
ters in  New  York,  who  will  attest  that  they  have  been 
witnesses  of  repeated  cures  by  the  same  remedy.  He 
also  Confirms  the  account  given  in  the  above  letter. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  (Manasseh  Cutler)  also  has  re- 
ceived verbal  information,  which  he  considers  as  con- 
firmatory of  the  above  important  particulars . ' '  Thacher. 

Reference  is  made  to  these  facts  in  Thacher's  New 
Dispensatory,  1810,  long  descriptions  being  given  in 
detail.  In  the  revised  edition,  1821,  Dr.  Thacher,  after 
making  his  special  study  of  the  disease,  condenses  the 
article,  abandons  the  verbatim  reproduction  from  the 
current  press,  but  emphasizes  the  value  of  scutellaria 
in  the  treatment  of  hydrophobia,  in  the  following  posi- 
tive language: 

"The  medical  properties  ascribed  to  scullcap  are 
those  of  an  antidote  against  the  effect  of  canine  mad- 
ness. In  a  publication  entitled  Observations  on  Hydro- 
phobia, by  the  compiler  of  this  work,  a  mass  of  evidence 
in  favor  of  the  antidotal  powers  of  this  plant  has  been 
recorded.  Numerous  gazettes  and  journals  have  also 
teemed  with  encomiums  on  its  preventive  powers,  and 
from  sources  so  respectable  as  to  claim  attention  and 
confidence;  and  where  it  has  been  most  known  and  em- 
ployed, it  has  been  the  most  highly  extolled.  Dr.  Van 
Derveer,  late  of  New  Jersey,  being  in  possession  of  the 
secret,  acquired  extensive  popularity  by  his  success; 
and  he  is  said  to  have  declared,  that  during  his  practice 
he  has  prevented  upwards  of  three  hundred  persons 
from  going  mad,  and  that  he  never  lost  but  one  patient 
to  whom  his  medicine  had  been  administered.  From  the 


SCUTELLARIA  315 

high  reputation,  therefore,  of  Scullcap,  perhaps  surpassing 
that  of  any  other  remedy,  practitioners  ought  to  resort  to 
the  use  of  it  on  any  occasion  which  may  offer,  either  in 
relieving  mankind  from  this  awful  malady,  or  in  arresting 
the  devastation  among  the  brute  creation." 

TREATMENT. — The  following  is  the  manner  in  which 
Mr.  Lewis  and  Dr.  Van  Derveer  respectively  prepared 
and  administered  the  remedy: 

"The  leaves  of  Scutellaria  should  be  gathered  when  in 
flower,  carefully  dried,  reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  and 
put  into  bottles,  well  corked,  for  use.  When  a  person 
has  received  a  bite  by  a  mad  dog,  he  must  take  of  a 
strong  infusion  of  the  leaves  or  powder,  a  gill  four  or 
five  times  a  day,  every  other  day.  The  day  it  is  omitted 
he  must  take  a  spoonful  of  the  flowers  of  sulphur  in 
molasses,  in  the  morning,  fasting,  and  at  bedtime  in 
new  milk,  and  apply  the  pounded  green  herb  to  the 
wound  every  two  hours,  continuing  the  prescription 
for  three  weeks.  For  cattle  or  horses,  use  four  times 
that  prescribed  for  a  man. — Thacher." 

THE  DISCREDITING  OF  SCUTELLARIA. — Between  the 
date  of  the  discovery  of  the  properties  of  scutellaria  in 
1773,  by  Dr.  Van  Derveer,  who  experienced  nearly 
half  a  century  of  quiet,  neighborhood  practice  of  medi- 
cine, and  the  charlatanism  methods  of  the  weaver, 
Lewis,  who  knew  nothing  of  medicine,  but  was  an  ad- 
vertising l< mad-dog  doctor,"  scutellaria  passed  into  of- 
fensive notoriety,  several  causes  uniting  to  discredit 
the  drug. 

1.  The  hostility  of  the  leaders  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession, largely  by  reason  of  its  newspaper  popularity, 
through  which  the  drug  had  come  to  be  dominated  by 
non-medical  men. 


316  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

2.  The  extravagant  claims  of  enthusiastic  empiri- 
cists. 

Thus,  under  prevailing  therapeutic  methods  and 
theories,  distrust  of  the  remedy  was  natural,  and  antag- 
onism to  it  became  inevitable.  The  leaders  of  the  pro- 
fession of  the  date  following  1820,  neglecting  Thacher's 
advice,  either  ignored  scutellaria  as  a  "quack"  remedy 
for  hydrophobia,  or  discredited  it  because  of  its  mild 
inoffensiveness.  Whether,  in  the  ultimate,  this  ostra- 
cism of  the  remedy  was  just  or  unjust,  in  the  face  of  all 
the  evidence,  rests  yet  unsettled.  In  the  light  of  its 
record  and  of  what  history  teaches  concerning  medical 
politics  in  the  first  half  of  the  19th  centuiy,  it  may  be 
considered  an  open  question  whether  scutellaria  is  an 
invaluable  remedy  that  dropped  from  sight  because  of 
the  prejudice  of  the  men  ("skeptics,"  they  were  called 
by  Rafinesque),  who  opposed  the  methods  of  its  advo- 
cates and  refused  to  test  the  drug,  or  was  dropped 
because  it  has  no  virtues.  The  talented  scientist, 
C.  S.  R.  Rafinesque,  giving  a  summary  of  its  hydro- 
phobia record,  in  1830,  expresses  himself  much  as  the 
evidence  appeals  to  us: 

"Many  empirics  and  some  enlightened  physicians 
have  employed  Scutellaria  successfully.  But  several 
skeptical  physicians  have  since  denied  altogether  these 
facts,  and  pronounced  the  plant  totally  inert,  because 
it  has  no  strong  action  on  the  system,  and  has  failed  in 
their  hands.  Dr.  W.  P.  C.  Barton  and  Dr.  Tully  have 
strenuously  asserted  this,  but  without  analyzing  the 
plant,  and  denying  instead  of  proving.  ...  In  hydro- 
phobia it  appears  to  be  a  good  prophylactic,  if  not  a 
certain  cure.  A  physician  (Dr.  White,  of  Fishkill), 
bitten  by  a  mad  dog,  has  assured  me  that  he  alone 


SENEGA  317 

avoided  the  disease  by  using  the  plant,  while  others 
bitten  by  the  same  dog,  died.  Many  instances  of  the 
same  kind  are  on  record :  nay,  many  who  believe  in  the 
property,  say  it  never  fails.  We  lack,  however,  a  series 
of  scientific  and  conclusive  experiments,  made  by  well- 
informed  men;  they  have  been  discouraged  by  the  ridicu- 
lous denial  of  skeptics;  but  let  us  hope  these  may  yet  be 
performed."— Rafinesque,  Mat.  Med.,  Vol.  II,  1830. 
(Italics  our  own). 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  scholarly  Rafinesque, 
who  was  familiar  with  all  connected  scientific  literature 
to  his  date,  and  who  refers  to  such  authorities  as  Tully 
and  Barton,  with  whom  he  was  intimately  acquainted, 
asserts  that  the  drug  had  not  been  given  justice,  be- 
cause, to  put  the  matter  plainly  in  his  words,  the 
"skeptics"  forbade.  Nor  do  we  find  authoritative  data 
between  1830  and  1920  to  weaken  this  statement. 

SENEGA  (Senega  or  Seneca  Snakeroot) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Senega,  the  root  of  a  small  North  American  plant, 
Poly  gala  Senega,  enjoyed  very  early  a  reputation  as 
one  of  the  new  remedies  produced  by  America.  The 
Seneca  Indians  of  New  York  state  employed  it  as  a 
remedy  for  the  bite  of  the  rattlesnake,  which  led  to  its 
notoriety  in  the  hands  of  Tennent,  a  Scotch  physician 
in  Virginia,  who  also  administered  it  for  coughs.  Under 
the  name  senega,  or  rattlesnake  root,  it  came  to  the 
attention  of  Dr.  -Mead,  of  London,  and  through  his 
efforts  and  those  of  others,  (even  Linnaeus  writing  a  dis- 
sertation on  it),  senega  root  came  into  great  demand. 
In  domestic  American  medicine  it  has  been  continually 
used  as  an  expectorant,  the  usual  form  being  that  of  a 


318  PHARMACOPEIAS  DRUGS 

syrup.  Until  a  few  decades  ago,  senega  came  from  the 
eastern  United  States  and  the  central  hill  lands,  as  a 
small,  wire-like  root.  Unexpectedly,  a  large,  knotty 
variety  was  discovered  in  Wisconsin,  which  displaced 
the  older  variety.  The  problem  was  discussed  by  Pro- 
fessor Maisch  and  this  writer  in  the  Am.  Journ.  of 
Pharm.,  (1889),  and  the  Proceedings  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association,  which  see,  (1889,  p.  473 
and  1891,  p.  43). 

SENNA  (Senna) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
Senna  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  is  the  leaflet  of  Cassia  acutifolia 
(Alexandria  Senna  of  commerce),  or  of  Cassia  angustifolia  (India 
Senna). 

Senna  leaves  are  from  two  species  of  Cassia,  one 
native  to  Nubia  and  other  sections  of  Africa,  while  the 
other  abounds  in  Yemen  and  Southern  Arabia,  as  well 
as  in  some  parts  of  India,  where  it  is  cultivated  for 
medicinal  use.  The  cultivated  plant,  originally  the 
product  of  Arabian  seed,  furnishes  the  leaves  known  in 
commerce  as  Tinnevelly  senna.  The  drug  was  intro- 
duced into  western  Europe  by  the  Arabians,  in  which 
connection  it  may  be  noted  that,  notwithstanding  its 
present  abundance  in  some  parts  of  Africa,  according 
to  Isaac  Judseus  (336a),  a  native  of  Egypt,  who  lived 
about  850-900  A.  D.,  senna  was  brought  to  Egypt 
from  Mecca.  In  early  Arabian  medicine,  the  pods  of 
the  senna  were  preferred  to  the  leaves.  Its  price  in 
France,  (1542),  was  about  that  of  pepper  or  ginger. 
This  writer  found  senna  abundant  in  the  Orient,  carried 
in  shops  where  food  and  provisions  were  sold,  and  in 
the  bazaars  of  Aden,  Arabia,  as  well  as  in  those  of 
Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  it  being  everywhere  a 


SINAPIS  ALBA  319 

familiar  domestic  cathartic.    Its  native  use  introduced 
the  drug  to  medicine,  and  antedates  historical  record. 

SERPENT  ARIA   (Serpentaria,  Virginia  Snakeroot) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
The  U.  S.  P.,  1910,  directs  the  use  of  the  rhizome  and  roots  of 
Aristolochia  Serpentaria  (Virginia  Snakeroot  of  commerce),  or  of 
Aristolochia  reticulata  (Texas  Snakeroot). 

Aristolochia  Serpentaria  is  a  perennial  herb  found  in 
woodlands  of  the  temperate  parts  of  the  United  States, 
especially  in  the  Allegheny  and  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains, though  it  seldom  prevails  abundantly.  It  is  by 
some  believed  to  have  been  first  mentioned  in  1636 
by  Thomas  Johnson,  an  apothecary  of  London,  who 
issued  an  edition  of  Gerarde's  (262)  Herbal,  which  it  is 
commonly  believed  was  its  introduction  to  England. 
Others,  however,  question  whether  the  "snakeweed" 
mentioned  in  this  work  was  not  a  species  of  Aristolochia 
from  Crete.  The  early  use  of  Serpentaria  in  America 
was  as  a  remedy  for  snakebite,  which  gave  it  the  name 
Virginia  Snakeroot,  but  in  this  direction  it  has  not,  to 
our  knowledge,  been  used  in  recent  times  anywhere  in 
America.  The  domestic  use  of  Serpentaria  has  been  in 
the  direction  of  a  stimulant  to  the  organs  of  digestion, 
and  in  the  form  of  a  tincture  as  a  stomachic,  it  being 
one  of  the  ingredients  of  the  old-time  popular  "stomach 
bitters"  of  American  home  medication. 

SINAPIS  ALBA  (White  Mustard) 

Not  mentioned  in  U.  S.  P.  of  1820  or  1828.  Official  in  all 
other  editions,  including  1910. 

White  mustard,  Sinapis  alba,  seems  to  be  indigenous 
to  the  southern  countries  of  Europe  and  western  Asia, 
from  which,  according  to  Chinese  authors,  it  was  intro- 
duced into  China.  Formerly  it  was  not  distinguished 


320  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

from  black  mustard.  Its  cultivation  in  England  is 
quite  recent,  but  it  is  now  an  abundant  weed  in  many 
sections.  White  mustard,  in  common  with  black  mus- 
tard, is  an  exceedingly  popular,  stimulating  condiment. 
It  is  preferred,  on  account  of  its  color  as  well  as  its 
mildness,  to  the  black  mustard.  The  "mustard  seed" 
of  the  Bible  (Matt.  XIII:  32)  is  the  product  of  a  tree, 
Salvadora  persica,  and  is  not  the  same  as  the  plant  now 
known  under  the  name  mustard.  (See  J.  H.  Balfour, 
Plants  of  the  Bible.}  (35) 

SINAPIS  NIGRA    (Black  Mustard) 

Mustard  is  mentioned  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  The 
edition  of  1820,  (2d  ed.  1828),  mentions  Sinapis  nigra  only. 
All  later  editions  include  Sinapis  alba,  as  well  as  S.  nigra. 

Black  mustard,  Sinapis  nigra,  is  an  herb  found  over 
the  whole  of  Europe,  excepting  the  extreme  north.  It 
also  abounds  in  northern  Africa,  Asia  Minor,  the  Cau- 
casian region,  western  India,  southern  Siberia  and 
China,  as  well  as  in  North  and  South  America,  where 
it  is  now  naturalized.  It  was  known  by  the  ancients, 
Theophrastus  (633),  Pliny  (514)  and  others  noticing  the 
plant.  In  early  times  it  seems  to  have  been  used  more 
as  a  medicine  than  as  a  condiment;  but  Diocletian, 
300  B.  C.,  speaks  of  it  as  a  substance  used  as  a  condi- 
ment in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Roman  Empire.  During 
the  Middle  Ages,  Europeans  esteemed  it  as  an  accom- 
paniment to  salted  meats.  The  Welsh  "Meddygon 
Myddfai,"  (507  and  Note  to  Aconite),  of  the  13th  cen- 
tury, commends  the  "Virtues  of  Mustard."  Household 
recipes  of  the  13th  and  14th  centuries  constantly  men- 
tion mustard  under  the  name  senapium.  The  convent 
lands  of  France  produced  it  as  a  part  of  their  revenues, 
800  A.  D.  Black  mustard  is  naturally  of  great  impor- 


STAPHISAGRIA  321 

tance,  the  credit  of  its  introduction  being,  as  with  other 
substances  of  a  like  nature,  due  to  the  observing  "em- 
piricists." 

SPIGELIA    (Pinkroot) 
Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Spigelia  marilandica  is  an  American  plant,  indigenous 
to  the  temperate  regions  and  thick  woods  of  this  coun- 
try. The  Indians  employed  a  decoction  of  the  root  as  a 
vermifuge,  thus  introducing  it  at  an  early  date  to  the 
settlers,  the  physicians  and  the  botanists.  It  was  de- 
scribed by  Barton  (43),  Schopf  (582)  and  other  author- 
ities, but  was  never  extensively  used  by  the  American 
schools  of  medicine,  either  the  Botanic  or  the  Eclectic. 
As  a  domestic  remedy  it  was  customary,  half  a  century 
ago,  to  use  a  mixture  of  "pink  root"  and  senna,  to  which 
were  added  a  few  pieces  of  manna,  a  homemade  decoc- 
tion being  given  to  children  and  others  afflicted  with 
worms.  In  our  opinion  this  home  treatment  formerly 
consumed  most  of  the  drug  of  commerce,  which,  since 
the  discovery  of  santonine,  has  come  to  be  of  minor  im- 
portance. In  the  days  of  this  writer's  experience  as  a 
prescription  clerk  in  Cincinnati,  1865-1880,  the  mixture 
above  described  was  in  continual  domestic  demand,  the 
decoction  being  prepared  at  home. 

STAPHISAGRIA  (Stavesacre) 

Introduced  in  edition  of  1880.    Official  in  all  later  editions. 

Delphinium  Staphisagria,  a  native  of  waste  places  of 
Italy,  the  islands  of  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,  is  now  gen- 
erally distributed  throughout  the  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries and  the  adjacent  islands,  e.  g.,  The  Canaries.  It 
was  known  to  the  ancients,  being  mentioned  by  Nican- 
der  (581),  Dioscorides  (194),  Pliny  (514)  and  others, 


322  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Pliny  stating  that  the  powdered  seeds  were  used  for 
destroying  vermin  of  the  head  and  body,  in  which  direc- 
tion it  is  still  popular.  Throughout  the  Middle  Ages 
staphisagria  continued  hi  use,  according  to  Pietro 
Crescenzio  (172),  of  the  13th  century.  The  seeds  were 
collected  in  Italy,  where  the  plant  is  still  cultivated, 
and  is  in  demand  in  domestic  medicine  as  an  insecticide. 
Staphisagria  is  a  remedy  highly  valued  by  the  Eclectics 
and  by  the  Homeopathists,  its  use  among  the  latter 
physicians  antedating  that  with  the  Eclectics.  Dr. 
Scudder  (590),  in  the  first  edition  of  his  Specific  Medi- 
cation, (1871),  writes  of  it  as  follows: 

"Staphisagria  has  a  specific  action  upon  the  reproduc- 
tive organs  of  both  male  and  female;  but  more  marked 
in  the  first.  It  quiets  irritation  of  the  testes,  and 
strengthens  their  function;  it  lessens  irritation  of  the 
prostate  and  vesiculse;  arrests  prostatorrhea,  and  cures 
inflammation  of  these  parts.  It  also  exerts  a  marked 
influence  upon  the  urethra,  quieting  irritation  and 
checking  mucous,  or  mucopurulent  discharges;  it  in- 
fluences the  bladder  and  kidneys,  but  in  less  degree. 

"The  action  of  Staphisagria  upon  the  nervous  system 
is  peculiar.  It  exerts  a  favorable  influence  where  there 
is  depression  of  spirits  and  despondence,  in  cases  of 
hypochondriasis  and  hysteria,  especially  when  attended 
with  moroseness  and  violent  outbursts  of  passion." 

STILLINGIA  (Queen's  Root) 

Introduced  by  the  New  York  edition  of  1830  (Secondary  List), 
retaining  this  position  in  the  1840  edition.  It  was  then  trans- 
ferred to  the  Primary  List,  and  remained  wholly  official  through 
all  later  editions. 

Stillingia  sylvatica  is  native  to  the  pine  barrens  and 
other  sections  of  the  Southern  States  of  North  America. 


STRAMONIUM  323 

In  the  form  of  an  infusion  or  decoction  it  was  long  used 
in  domestic  medicine  as  a  purgative  and  alterative, 
creeping  thence  to  the  attention  of  physicians  of  the 
Southern  States.  It  was  also  employed  empirically  in 
cutaneous  diseases,  and  as  a  constituent  of  various 
"blood  purifiers,"  was  commonly  used  by  the  people  of 
the  South.  A  once  popular  remedy,  Wayne's  Panacea, 
was  asserted  by  Rafinesque  (535)  to  depend  for  its 
qualities  upon  stillingia,  which  Dr.  John  King,  (356, 
357)  in  his  American  Dispensatory,  most  positively  con- 
troverted. Inasmuch  as  Peter  Smith  (605),  the  "Indian 
Herb  Doctor,"  neglects  stillingia  in  his  Dispensatory, 
while  Rafinesque  (535)  gives  it  brief  mention  in  his 
Medical  Equivalents,  it  is  evident  that  the  drug  came 
to  the  general  attention  of  the  medical  profession  by 
reason  of  its  use  by  the  settlers,  about  thfe  date  of  the 
first  edition  of  King's  American  Dispensatory,  1852. 
Since  that  period  until  the  early  60's,  it  was  a  conspic- 
uous constituent  of  the  popular  American  "blood  puri- 
fiers," and  in  the  form  of  compound  syrup  of  stillingia 
was  used  alike  in  empirical  medication  and  by  the 
profession. 

STRAMONIUM 
(Stramonium,  Jamestown  Weed,  Jimson  Weed) 

Official,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P., 
from  1820  to  1910.  The  early  editions,  1820,  1828  and  1830, 
(both  New  York  and  Philadelphia),  mention  both  leaves  and 
seed.  The  editions  of  1840  and  1850  make  the  root  also  official, 
but  from  1860  the  root  is  unmentioned. ,  The  editions  of  1900 
and  1910  confine  their  recognition  to  the  leaves  of  stramonium. 
U.  S.  P.,  1910,  permits  leaves  of  Datura  Stramonium  or  of 
Datura  Tatula. 

Datura  Stramonium  is  now  found  throughout  most 
parts  of  the  temperate  civilized  world.  It  was  early 
noticed  in  America,  where  the  settlers  near  Jamestown, 


324  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Virginia,  in  their  search  for  "pot  herbs,"  used  it  with 
fatal  results,  thus  advertising  it  so  as  to  create  and 
establish  for  it  the  common  name,  still  in  use,  "Jimson 
weed,"  (Jamestown  weed).  De  Candolle  (186)  decided 
that  stramonium  was  indigenous  to  the  Old  World, 
probably  bordering  the  Caspian  Sea,  but  that  it  was 
not  found  in  India  nor  yet  in  Europe  at  the  time  of  the 
classical  period.  Dymock  does  not  mention  the  plant 
as  a  native  of  India. 

Stramonium  has  been  valued  as  a  pain-relieving 
favorite  in  domestic  American  medicine,  in  the  form  of 
a  poultice  or  ointment  made  from  the  pulp  of  the 
bruised  green  leaves,  to  ease  the  pains  of  bites  and 
stings  of  insects.  In  this  manner  it  was  employed  in 
Kentucky  in  the  writer's  boyhood  days,  (1855-60),  "we 
boys"  pounding  the  green  "Jimson"  leaves  to  a  pulp 
and  applying  them  as  a  panacea  to  bee  stings,  bruises 
and  venomous  bites.  The  dried  leaf  of  stramonium  has 
long  been  smoked  for  the  relief  of  asthma.  The  domes- 
tic use  of  stramonium  in  these  directions  led  the  early 
American  physician  to  its  employment,  both  internally 
and  externally.  (See  Hyoscyamus).  At  the  present 
time,  1921,  this  long  despised  weed  (stramonium)  sup- 
plies Atr opine  for  the  American  market,  the  firm  of 
Eli  Lilly  &  Company,  Indianapolis,  using  enormous 
amounts  of  the  green  plant  for  that  purpose.  The  al- 
kaloidal  content  of  stramonium  (now  known)  corrob- 
orates the  validity  of  the  empirical  uses  of  stramonium, 
as  announced  at  an  early  date.  It  has  been  the  subject 
of  considerable  research,  that  of  Dr.  Alfred  R.  L. 
Dohme  (1893-4)  being  designed  to  differentiate  the 
yields  from  different  parts  of  the  plant  at  different 
seasons,  a  feature  of  his  conclusions  (Proc.  Amer. 


STRAMONIUM  325 

Pharm.  Assn.,  1894,  contribution  from  the  research 
laboratory  of  Sharp  and  Dohme),  being  to  the  effect: 

"1st.  That  the  stems  of  Datura  Stramonium  contain 
more  alkaloid  than  the  leaves. 

"2nd.  That  the  plant  Datura  Stramonium  gathered 
in  June  contains  less  alkaloid  than  that  gathered  in 
July  and  August." 

Let  us  now  quote  from  King's  American  Dispensa- 
tory, 1852,  concerning  the  qualities  of  the  plant: 

"PROPERTIES  AND  USES. — In  large  doses,  a  narcotic 
poison.  In  medicinal  doses,  it  acts  as  an  anodyne- 
antispasmodic,  and  without  producing  constipation. 
Used  for  allaying  rheumatic,  syphilitic,  and  neuralgic 
pains,  also  in  mania  and  epilepsy. 

"Externally,  a  poultice  of  the  fresh  leaves,  bruised,  or 
the  dried  leaves  in  hot  water,  will  be  found  an  excellent 
application  over  the  bowels  in  severe  forms  of  gastritis, 
enteritis,  peritonitis,  etc.  (I  have  in  many  instances 
applied  them  to  the  perineum,  in  cases  of  retention  of 
urine  from  enlarged  prostate,  where  it  was  impossible 
to  introduce  a  catheter,  and  after  remaining  on  about 
half  an  hour  have  readily  been  able  to  pass  the  catheter, 
and  thus  relieved  the  patient.  I  have  met  with  similar 
good  results  in  urethral  stricture. — K.)  It  will  also  be 
found  beneficial  as  a  local  medication  to  all  species  of 
painful  ulcers,  acute  ophthalmia,  swelled  breasts,  in- 
flammatory rheumatism,  and  hemorrhoidal  tumors. 
An  ointment  of  it  is  very  valuable  in  many  of  the  above 
diseases.  It  should  never  be  given  internally,  in  pleth- 
ora, or  where  there  is  much  determination  to  the 
head." 


326  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

STROPHANTHUS    (Strophanthus) 

First  mentioned  in  edition  of  1890.  Official  in  later  editions. 
1900  and  1910.  The  official  drug,  U.  S.  P.,  is  the  seed  of  Stro- 
phanthus Kombe  or  of  Strophanthus  hispidus. 

The  genus  Strophanthus,  which  produces  this  drug, 
is  chiefly  African.  It  belongs  to  the  Apocynacece,  (tribe 
echitidese  of  this  order),  and  is  distinguished  from  the 
other  tribes  chiefly  from  having  its  anthers  united,  after 
the  manner  of  the  Asclepiadacece.  Index  Kewensis 
mentions  seventeen  species  of  Strophanthus,  Bentham 
and  Hooker  eighteen  species,  Pax  (495)  twenty-five 
species,  and  the  number  is  being  rapidly  augmented,  as 
the  flora  of  Africa  becomes  better  known.  Plants  of 
the  genus  have  usually  woody  stems,  emitting  a  milky 
juice  when  wounded,  and  are  generally  twining  vines. 
The  seed  of  commerce  is  probably  collected  from  various 
species  mcUscriminately,  which  have  been  classified  and 
differentiated  by  Pax,  Planchon,  (512),  Hartwich  (304), 
Holmes  (322),  Blondel  (80)  and  others.  Space  will  per- 
mit us  to  mention  only  the  two  species  which  are  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  principal  source  of  the  drug. 

Strophanthus  hispidus,  D.  C.,  is  one  of  four  species 
described  by  De  Candolle  as  early  as  1802,  and  is  the 
species  to  which  the  drug  was  first  ascribed.  Its  habitat 
is  Senegambia  and  Guinea,  and  other  parts  of  western 
Africa.  Its  stem  is  a  twining,  milky  shrub,  with  op- 
posite, hirsute  leaves,  hence  the  name  hispidus,  bristly, 
hairy.  The  seed,  which  bears  a  slender  style  terminat- 
ing in  a  plumose  pappus  consisting  of  long  hairs,  is  the 
part  used  in  medicine.  Hartwich  calls  special  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  hairs  of  Strophanthus  seed  are  very 
sensitive  to  moisture,  spreading  horizontally  in  dry  ah*, 
and  becoming  erect  in  moist  atmosphere.  He  suggests 


STROPHANTHUS  327 

that  the  pappus  would  thus  make  an  hygrometer  suffi- 
ciently sensitive  for  practical  purposes. 

Strophanthus  Kombe,  Oliver,  is  a  similar  plant,  native, 
however,  of  eastern  Africa.  It  was  at  first  referred  to 
S.  hispidus,  and  by  some  is  still  considered  to  be  but  the 
Oriental  form  of  this  species.  It  has  the  same  hirsute 
leaves,  but  more  coriaceous.  The  sepals  are  shorter 
than  the  corolla  tube,  and  the  cymes  are  fewer  flowered 
than  in  S.  hispidus. 

Although  the  genus  strophanthus  was  thus  estab- 
lished by  De  Candolle  as  far  back  as  1802,  it  was  not 
until  the  early  sixties  that  the  drug  came  to  the  general 
notice  of  Europeans  as  being  one  of  the  arrow  poisons 
used  among  the  native  African  tribes,  there  being  two 
kinds  of  arrow  poisons  derived  from  this  source,  one 
prepared  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  (Senegambia, 
Guinea  and  Gaboon),  called  inee  or  onaye,  which  is  de- 
rived from  Strophanthus  hispidus,  D.  C.  This  is  on 
the  authority  of  Hendelot,  who  observed  the  plant 
yielding  this  poison  in  Senegambia  at  the  river  Nunez 
(246).  A  specimen  of  this  arrow  poison  was  sent  to 
Europe  and  investigated  by  Pelikan  in  1865.  (Comptes 
Rendus,  1865,  vol.  60,  p.  1209). 

On  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  the  korribe  or  gombe  poison 
was  in  use  by  the  Manganjah  tribe,  located  near  Lake 
Nyassa  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Shire,  a  tributary  of 
the  Zambesi  River.  Consul  Kirk  in  Zanzibar,  in  1861, 
established  that  this  poison  originated  from  a  strophan- 
thus species,  and  forwarded  specimens  to  Professor 
Sharpey  in  England  for  the  purpose  of  investigation 
(246).  Subsequently,  in  1865,  Livingstone's  famous 
reports  brought  the  kombe  poison  to  a  more  general 
notice  among  Europeans  (387).  This  species  of  stro- 


328  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

phanthus  was  at  first  considered  identical  with  S.  his- 
pidus,  D.  C.,  but  the  plant  was  shown  by  Oliver  in  1885 
to  be  distinct  from  the  latter,  and  justified  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  new  species,  Strophanthus  Kombe. 

The  physiological  features  of  strophanthus  as  a 
powerful  cardiac  were  recognized  by  the  first  investi- 
gators (Sharpey,  1862;  Pelikan,  1865;  Fraser,  1871). 
Livingstone  reports  the  observation  of  Consul  Kirk 
that  the  poison  remarkably  reduced  the  pulse,  but  the 
drug  was  not  authoritatively  recognized  by  the  medical 
profession  until  about  the  year  1885. 

NOTES  ON  ARROW  POISONS. — Under  the  heading 
Hyoscyamus,  which  see,  we  referred  briefly  to  the  ordeal 
poisons  of  Africa.  Among  various  aboriginal  tribes, 
arrow  poisons  are  in  common  usage  in  warfare,  as  well 
as  in  hunting.  While  in  Africa  we  find  strophanthus 
yielding  the  "inee"  and  "kombe"  poisons,  in  the  Hima- 
laya Mountains,  in  Nepal,  Aconitum  ferox  is  used  for  a 
like  purpose,  and  Antiaris  toxicaria  or  upas  tree  in  Java, 
and  Cumane  in  South  America.  Nor  are  such  poisons 
confined  to  vegetable  origin.  Livingstone  cites  a 
poisonous  caterpillar  employed  in  South  Africa,  and 
suggests  that  the  animal  probably  derives  its  poison 
from  the  plant  on  which  it  feeds.  Lewin  mentions  in 
this  connection  Diamphidia  simplex,  an  underground 
crysalis. 

As  a  rule,  the  African  arrow  poisons  do  not  consist  of 
single  substances,  but  of  compounds  made  up  of  various 
roots  and  leaves  difficult  to  identify,  botanically  and 
chemically.  The  natives  are  very  reluctant  about  dis- 
closing the  origin  or  the  manner  of  preparation  of  their 
arrow  poisons,  and  only  the  initiated  few  among  them 
are  acquainted  with  the  art.  When  comes  the  time  to 


STROPHANTHUS  329 

concoct  the  arrow  poison,  one  man  betakes  himself  into 
the  forest's  depths,  far  away  from  human  habitations. 
He  frees  the  seeds  of  strophanthus  from  their  hairy 
appendages,  (which  by  the  way  are  an  article  of  com- 
merce, serving  in  the  making  of  vegetable  silk),  and 
pounds  them  to  a  pulp  in  a  mortar;  he  then  adds  water 
and  the  expressed  juice  of  the  rind  of  a  tiliaceous  species 
yielding  a  gum  that  serves  to  make  the  poison  stick  to 
the  arrow.  The  poison  thus  prepared  is  then  smeared 
upon  the  shaft,  to  a  length  of  about  six  inches.  It  is 
said  that  game  wounded  by  an  arrow  poisoned  by  stro- 
phanthus dies  at  once,  seldom  being  able  to  move  a 
hundred  yards.  The  flesh  of  animals  killed  in  this  way 
is  eaten  without  any  evil  effect,  the  only  precaution 
taken,  being  either  to  cut  out  and  exclude  the  flesh 
surrounding  the  wound,  or  to  squeeze  into  it  the  sap 
from  a  branch  of  the  baobab  tree  (Adansonia  digitatd). 
Elephants  and  hippopotami  can  not  be  destroyed  in  this 
manner,  as  they  do  not  respond  to  the  amount  of  poison 
an  arrow  can  carry. 

The  pigmies  of  Africa  use  five  ingredients  in  com- 
pounding their  arrow  poisons,  and  three  to  make  their 
antidote  to  this  poison.  Surgeon  Parke  was  so  fortunate 
as  to  secure  detailed  information  with  regard  to  the 
source  of  these  ingredients.  (Pharm.  Journ.,  Vol.  XX, 
1890-91,  pp.  917  and  927).  This  poison  is  not  con- 
nected with  strophanthus;  it  has  as  its  basis  some 
species  of  Strychnos,  and  the  bark  of  Erythrophlceum 
guineense,  Don,  the  tree  that  yields  the  "red-water 
ordeal"  of  African  tribes. 

The  ouabaio  poison  of  the  Somali  deserves  here 
special  mention,  because  its  active  principle,  onabain, 
is  believed  to  stand  in  close  connection  with  strophan- 


330  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

thin.  The  ouabaio  poison,  liberally  referred  to  by  Bur- 
ton, according  to  our  present  state  of  knowledge  is  de- 
rived from  a  species  of  Apocynacece.  The  making  of 
this  poison  among  the  Somali  is  attended  with  the  same 
mystery  thrown  about  the  strophanthus  arrow  poison. 
The  wood  is  chipped  and  then  boiled  with  water  in  an 
earthenware  pot  for  hours  or  even  days,  until  a  pitch- 
like  extract  is  obtained,  which  is  smeared  upon  the  iron 
arrow  point.  To  prevent  the  poison  from  rubbing  off, 
the  barb  is  surrounded  with  parchment-like  prepared 
goat  skins  or  plant  fibers,  which  are  removed  imme- 
diately before  use.  To  test  this  poison,  the  Somali 
scratches  his  arm  until  the  blood  flows;  he  then  applies 
the  poison  to  the  lower  end  of  the  bloody  pool,  and 
watches  the  blood  coagulating  from  below  upward, 
estimating  thereby  its  virulence.  This  appears  to 
anticipate  some  phases  of  scientific  thought — such  as 
the  blood  test  for  the  cobra  virus. 

In  1882,  some  roots,  stems  and  leaves  of  the  plant 
yielding  the  Somali  poison  were  sent  to  France  by 
Revoil  and  investigated  by  Arnaud.  In  1888  Arnaud 
obtained  from  similar  specimens  an  active  principle,  an 
amorphous  glucosid  that  he  called  ouabain.  For  this 
substance  he  arrived  at  the  formula  C»H«O,j.  This 
differs  by  the  group  CH,  from  the  formula  for  strophan- 
thin,  Ci.H«O,i,  which  he  obtained  from  S.  hispidus, 
D.  C.  He  therefore  concluded  that  strophanthin 
represents  the  higher  homologue  of  ouabain.  Besides, 
both  substances  have  identical  physiological  action, 
which  differs  in  degree  only. 

PHARMACOPEIAL  RECORD  OF  STROPHANTHUS. — Be- 
cause of  its  recent  introduction  into  medicine,  only  late 
editions  of  the  different  Pharmacopeias  carry  strophan- 


STYRAX  331 

thus.  Nor  are  the  various  Pharmacopeias  uniform  as 
regards  the  strength  of  its  preparations,  or  their  manip- 
ulation. The  German  Pharmacopeia  of  1890,  for  ex- 
ample, directs  for  the  tincture  a  strength  of  1 :10,  while 
the  British  Pharmacopeia  (additions  of  1890),  the 
Austrian,  1889,  and  the  U.  S.  P.,  1890,  direct  a  strength 
of  1 :20.  According  to  the  British  and  Austrian  editions, 
the  fatty  oil  is  to  be  previously  removed  by  ether.  The 
German  directs  the  fatty  oil  to  be  removed  by  cold 
pressure,  while  the  United  States  Pharmacopeia  gives 
no  special  direction  for  the  removal  of  the  oil. 

In  1889,  Mr.  Beringer1  pointed  out  that  the  tincture 
of  strophanthus  should  not  be  prescribed  in  aqueous 
solution,  because  the  bitter  principle  undergoes  some 
change  in  aqueous  solution  by  standing  for  a  few  days, 
thereby  becoming  far  more  toxic  than  when  recently 
prepared. 

To  the  firm  of  Burroughs,  Wellcome  &  Company, 
London,  (677,  678),  is  largely  to  be  credited  the  position 
occupied  by  strophanthus  in  the  medical  lore  of  the 
present  day.  This  is  due  chiefly  to  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  Henry  S.  Wellcome,  through  his  friend,  Henry  M. 
Stanley,  the  African  explorer. 

STYRAX  (Storax) 

First  mentioned  in  the  Philadelphia  edition  of  the  1830 
U.  S.  P.,  as  "The  concrete  juice"  of  Styrax  officinale.  The 
New  York  edition  of  1830  does  not  name  styrax.  The  1840  and 
1850  editions  follow  the  1830  (Philadelphia)  edition.  In  1860, 
and  following,  the  source  is  said  to  be  from  Liquidambar  orientate 
(orientalis).  It  is  official  in  1910. 

Styrax  is  the  product  of  a  tree  native  to  the  south- 
western part  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  adjacent  islands. 
According  to  Krinos,  of  Athens,  1862,  the  earliest  allu- 

'  (Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1889,  p.  454). 


332  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

sions  to  styrax  were  made  by  Ae'tius  (6)  and  Paulus 
^Egineta  (494),  1567.  The  early  Arabian  physicians 
were  acquainted  with  styrax  and  its  methods  of  produc- 
tion. The  Russian  Abbott  of  Tver,  1113-15,  describes 
the  tree  as  found  by  him  in  his  travels  through  Asia 
Minor.  Styrax  reached  China  as  early  at  least  as  1368 
by  means  of  Arabian  caravans,  but  it  is  now  shipped  to 
China  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea  and  India.  Its  use  in 
medicine  combined  with  other  substances  is  restricted 
mainly  to  an  external  application  in  skin  diseases.  It 
has,  however,  been  recommended  for  internal  use,  and 
in  former  times  it  was  a  constituent  of  empirical  com- 
pounds designed  for  internal  medication. 

SUMBUL  (Muskroot) 

Official  from  1880  to  1910.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  earlier 
editions  of  the  U.  S.  P. 

Musk  root,  Ferula  Sumbul,  was  first  introduced  into 
Russia  as  a  substitute  for  musk,  and  was  known  in  Ger- 
many in  1840  as  a  Russian  product.  Its  history  is  to 
the  effect  that  in  1869  a  Russian  traveler,  Fedschenko 
(240),  discovered  the  plant  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Khanat  of  Bukhara,  40°  N.  Lat.  Sumbul  has  no  au- 
thentic position  in  medicine,  other  than  that  it  crept 
into  the  British  Pharmacopeia  in  1867  as  a  substance 
that  had  been  recommended  as  a  substitute  for  musk 
in  cholera.  This  gave  it  credit  elsewhere. 

TAMARINDUS  (Tamarind) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  from  1820,  excepting 
that  of  1910. 

The  tamarind,  Tamarindus  indica,  is  a  handsome 
tree,  indigenous  to  tropical  Africa.  It  is  also  found 


TAMARINDUS  333 

throughout  India,  Java  and  Yemen,  and  has  been  nat- 
uralized in  South  America  as  well  as  in  adjacent  tropical 
islands,  such  as  the  West  Indies,  also  in  Mexico,  as  the 
writer  found  when  in  La  Paz,  Lower  California.  The 
ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  seem  not  to  have  known 
the  tamarind.  If  known  to  the  Egyptians,  it  was 
neglected  by  their  authors,  although  Sir  Gardner  Wil- 
kinson (688)  states  that  tamarind  stones  were  found  in 
the  tombs  of  Thebes,  a  statement  not  confirmed  by 
specimens  of  the  contents  of  tombs  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  ancient  Sanskrit  writings  mention  tam- 
arind, and  the  fruit  was  known  to  the  Arabians  as  In- 
dian dates,  under  which  name  it  was  mentioned  by  early 
authors,  such  as  Avicenna  (30)  and  others,  including 
Alhervi  (2)  of  Persia.  Credit  is  given  the  Arabians  for 
the  distribution  of  the  drug  and  its  uses,  it  passing  from 
them,  with  other  Eastern  products,  into  Europe, 
through  the  famous  school  of  Salernum.  Tamarinds 
have  been  used  in  their  native  countries  in  the  making 
of  a  cooling  drink  much  relished  by  persons  afflicted 
with  fevers,  in  which  direction  they  have  been  also  em- 
ployed in  medicine  throughout  the  civilized  world.  It 
would  be  well  if  the  modern  physician  were  more  famil- 
iar with  the  grateful,  home-made  drink  that  tamarinds 
afford  the  parched  fever-sufferer. 

Dymock,  accepting  that  the  tamarind  is  a  native  of 
India,  gives  an  interesting  account  of  its  history  and 
uses.  From  this  we  quote,  as  follows: 

"There  appears  to  be  little  doubt  that  the  Tamarind 
tree  is  a  native  of  some  part  of  India,  probably  the 
South.  It  is  found  in  a  cultivated  or  semi-cultivated 
state  almost  everywhere,  and  the  fruit,  besides  being 
an  important  article  of  diet,  is  valued  by  the  Hindus  as 


334  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

a  refrigerant,  digestive,  carminative  and  laxative,  use- 
ful in  febrile  states  of  the  system,  costiveness,  etc.  The 
ashes  of  the  burnt  suber  are  used  as  an  alkaline  medicine 
in  acidity  of  the  urine  and  gonorrhea,  the  pulp  and  also 
the  leaves  are  applied  externally  in  the  form  of  a  poul- 
tice to  inflammatory  swellings. 

1  'The  Sanskrit  names  of  the  Tamarind  are  Tintidi  and 
Amlika.  The  word  'Tamarind'  appears  to  be  derived 
from  the  Arabic  Tamar-Hindi  (Indian  date),  and  it  was 
doubtless  through  the  Arabians  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
fruit  passed  during  the  Middle  Ages  into  Europe,  where, 
until  correctly  described  by  Garcia  d'Orta,  it  was  sup- 
posed to  be  produced  by  a  kind  of  Indian  palm. 

"The  author  of  the  Makhzan-el-Adwiya  describes  two 
kinds,  viz.,  the  red,  small-seeded  Buzerat  variety,  and 
the  common  reddish  brown.  The  first  is  by  far  the 
best."  (Dymock,  Pharmacographia  Indica,  v.  I,  p.  532.) 

TARAXACUM  (Dandelion) 

Introduced  in  Pharmacopeia  of  1830  (both  editions) .  Official 
in  all  editions  following,  including  that  of  1910. 

The  dandelion,  Taraxacum  officinale,  is  a  plant  famil- 
iar to  all,  being  found  throughout  the  whole  of  Europe, 
Central  Asia  and  North  America,  even  to  the  Arctic 
regions.  Although  the  word  Taraxacum  is  usually  con- 
sidered to  be  of  Greek  origin,  there  is  no  authentic 
record  that  the  plant  was  known  to  the  classical  writers 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  herbal  of  Johann  von  Cube 
(173),  1488,  gives  it  a  position  under  the  name  Dens 
leonis.  It  is  mentioned  by  Rhazes  in  the  10th  century, 
and  by  Avicenna  (30)  in  the  llth,  and  it  was  used  in 
Welsh  medicine  in  the  13th  century.  In  domestic  medi- 
eval medication  and  as  an  ingredient  of  many  popular 


TEREBINTHINA  335 

American  "bitters"  and  "blood  purifiers,"  taraxacum 
was  extensively  employed.  It  yet  enjoys  a  high  reputa- 
tion as  a  home  remedy.  Dandelion  wine  is  an  alcoholic 
liquid  made  by  fermentation  of  a  solution  of  sugar 
mixed  with  dandelion  flowers.  The  province  of  the 
flowers  is  that  of  a  flavor.  Professor  L.  E.  Sayre  has 
given  taraxacum  much  research.  (See  Proceedings  of 
the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.) 

TEREBINTHINA  (Turpentine) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  the  U.  S.  P.  from  1820,  excepting 
that  of  1910,  from  which  it  is  dropped. 

The  sticky  juice  of  many  trees,  as  the  pine,  larch, 
and  other  coniferous  trees,  is  known  by  the  general 
name  Turpentine,  qualified  by  an  adjective  descriptive 
of  its  botanical  origin  or  the  country  producing  it;  for 
example,  Strasburg  turpentine,  Canada  balsam,  etc. 
This  resinous,  balsamic  exudation  has  been  used  from 
all  times  as  a  balsam  or  pitch,  or,  when  the  wood  of  the 
tree  is  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat,  as  a  product  of 
decomposition  known  as  tar.  This  writer,  (1906),  ob- 
served a  fragrant  oleaginous  tar  brought  into  Smyrna 
in  sheepskins  from  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  which 
enjoyed  a  domestic  popularity  in  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try. The  Indians  of  North  America  employed  Canada 
balsam  as  an  application  to  wounds,  it  being  for  such 
purposes  an  excellent  antiseptic  dressing  (see  In- 
dian Captivities,  Guile's  Narrative)  (198).  The  dis- 
tillate of  the  natural  turpentine  had  once  a  widely 
known  domestic  use  in  America  as  a  remedy  for  worms, 
whilst  the  resin  (rosin)  which  remains  after  the  distilla- 
tion of  the  spirit,  is  yet  much  employed  in  domestic 
treatment  of  the  horse.  All  these  forms  of  turpentine, 


336  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

as  well  as  the  empyreumatic  products  of  many  related 
trees,  have  been  known  to  the  common  people,  as  a  rule, 
from  the  earliest  records  of  history.  The  last  editions 
of  the  Pharmacopeia  of  the  United  States,  under  the 
title  Okum  Terebinthina  Rectification,  direct  that  the 
spirit  obtained  from  the  distillation  of  turpentine, 
usually  obtained  from  the  Pinus  palustris  (Pinus  aus- 
tralis),  be  purified  by  redistillation  from  a  solution  of 
sodium  hydrate,  former  editions,  e.  g.  1890,  employ- 
ing lime  water  for  this  purpose. 

THYMOL  (Thymol) 

Introduced  into  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1880.  Official  thereafter, 
including  the  Ninth  Revision,  1910. 

Thymol  is  a  product  of  Thymus  vulgaris,  a  native  of 
Portugal,  Spain,  Southern  France,  Italy  and  the  moun- 
tainous parts  of  Greece.  For  several  centuries  it  has 
been  cultivated  in  England  as  a  garden  plant,  and  has 
long  been  known  to  yield  a  highly  aromatic,  essential 
oil.  Under  the  name  camphor  of  thyme,  an  apothecary 
of  Berlin  named  Neumann,  1725,  described  this  sub- 
stance, which  was  called  Thymol  by  Lallemand  (369a) 
in  1853,  thus  giving  a  name  to  a  substance  that,  in 
little  use  in  itself,  had  in  its  natural  association  and  com- 
bination as  a  part  of  oil  of  thyme  ever  been  valued  in 
domestic  medicine,  as  well  as  by  the  medical  profession. 
Under  the  name  oil  of  origanum,  oil  of  thyme  has  been 
a  popular  product  obtained  by  the  distillation  of  this 
herb,  being  used  as  an  ingredient  of  domestic  liniments 
and  in  veterinary  medicine.  Its  use  by  the  medical 
profession  is  even  yet  much  limited. 


TRAGACANTHA  337 

TRAGACANTHA  (Gum  Tragacanth) 

Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910.  The 
present  official  source  of  tragacanth  is  the  Astragalus  gum- 
mifera  or  other  species  of  Astragalus  of  Asia. 

This  gummy  exudation,  gum  tragacanth,  is  a  gift  of 
Asia  Minor,  the  shrub  yielding  it  being  very  widely 
distributed.  To  locate  its  first  use  exactly,  would  be  to 
antedate  historic  records.  It  has  ever  been  before  the 
people  in  the  cradle  of  humanity,  where  as  a  natural 
product  it  has  always  been  employed.  Theophrastus 
(633),  three  centuries  B.  C.,  described  it  and  located 
its  origin.  Dioscorides,  a  Greek  writer,  and  Arabian 
writers,  gave  it  due  attention.  In  fact,  it  would  per- 
haps be  as  difficult  to  locate  the  first  use  of  wheat,  as  the 
first  use  of  tragacanth. 

However,  until  a  moderately  recent  period,  only  the 
knotty  yellow  or  brown  natural  exudation  was  found 
in  commerce.  The  natives  next  learned  that  by  clean- 
ing the  bases  of  the  bushes  and  incising  the  bark  with  a 
knife,  ribbons  of  a  pure  white  or  semi-transparent 
nature  could  be  produced.  This  is  now  the  favorite  form. 

Tragacanth  comes  into  Smyrna  from  the  interior  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  from  Persia  and  Armenia.  Professor 
Thomas  H.  Norton,  U.  S.  Consul  at  Smyrna  in  1906, 
when  this  writer  visited  the  Orient,  described  its  collec- 
tion about  Harput,  Turkey.  Tragacanth  of  commerce 
is  a  conglomerate  mixture,  good,  bad  and  indifferent, 
as  obtained  from  the  caravan.  In  Smyrna  it  is  sorted 
into  grades,  based  mainly  on  its  color.  This  writer  took 
much  interest  in  the  tragacanth  problem,  and  made 
many  photographs  of  the  Smyrna  warehouses  where 
girls  were  engaged  in  sorting  tragacanth  and  nutgalls; 
dealers  in  the  one  product  handling  also  the  other. 


338  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

TRITICUM  (Couch  Grass) 

Introduced  into  Pharmacopeia  in  1880.  Official  thereafter, 
through  1910. 

Couch  grass,  Agropyron  repens,  is  a  weed  widely  dif- 
fused throughout  Europe,  northern  Asia,  the  Caspian 
region,  North  and  South  America,  even  to  Patagonia 
and  Terra  del  Fuega.  The  ancients  were  naturally 
familiar  with  this  grass  with  a  creeping  root-stalk,  but 
it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  species  valued  by  them. 
Dioscorides  (194)  ascribes  to  the  decoction  a  value  in 
calculus  and  suppression  of  urine.  This  use  of  triticum 
is  corroborated  by  Pliny  and  again  by  the  writings  of 
Oribasius  (479a)  of  the  third  century.  Practically  all 
the  medieval  herbals  figure  triticum,  as  in  Dodonseus 
(195).  As  a  domestic  remedy  it  has  ever  been  in  com- 
mon use,  and  in  the  form  of  a  decoction  is  yet  much 
employed  in  mucous  discharges  from  the  bladder  and 
in  other  affections  of  the  urinary  organs. 

ULMUS  (Elm  Bark,  Slippery  Elm) 
Official  in  every  edition,  from  1820  to  1910. 

"Slippery  elm,"  Ulmus  fulva,  is  the  inner  bark  of  a 
middle-sized  tree  found  abundantly  in  the  natural 
woodlands  of  the  Central  and  Eastern  United  States, 
from  Canada  to  the  south.  The  Indians  and  early 
settlers  of  North  America  valued  it  highly  as  a  poultice. 
In  certain  skin  diseases  they  used  it  as  an  external  ap- 
plication, and  also  as  a  soothing  drink  in  fevers.  In 
bowel  affections  they  employed  a  cold  decoction. 
Schopf  (582),  1787,  refers  to  it  as  "salve  bark."  An 
infusion  made  by  digesting  this  inner  bark,  shredded, 
in  cold  water  has,  after  the  teaching  of  the  Indians, 
ever  maintained  a  high  reputation  in  domestic  North 
American  medicine  in  fevers,  and  especially  in  diar- 


VALERIAN  339 

rheas  connected  therewith.  The  mucilaginous  qual- 
ities render  the  powdered  bark  peculiarly  adapted  to 
the  making  of  poultices,  and  in  this  direction  it  was 
known  to  all  the  early  settlers  of  America,  and  was  by 
them  introduced  to  the  medical  profession. 

UVA  URSI  (Bearberry) 

Official  in  every  edition  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Bearberry,  uva  ursi,  (Arctostaphylos  Uva  ursi)  (Lin- 
ne"),  which  takes  its  name  from  the  fact  that  its  berries 
are  eaten  by  the  North  American  bear,  is  a  low  ever- 
green shrub,  common  to  the  northern  countries  of  Eu- 
rope and  America.  The  leaves,  which  are  used  in  medi- 
cine, are  an  article  of  commerce  in  the  northern  sec- 
tions of  Europe,  America,  and  some  parts  of  Asia. 
Being  used  in  tanning,  in  Sweden  and  Russia,  according 
to  Rafinesque  (535),  they  established  the  well-known 
"Russia"  leather.  The  astringent  leaves  were  once 
highly  valued  in  Europe,  but  have  since  fallen  into 
disuse.  The  domestic  employment  of  the  drug  intro- 
duced it  to  American  medicine,  Drs.  Wistar,  Barton 
(43)  and  Bigelow  (69)  recommending  a  decoction  of  it 
as  a  wash  for  leucorrhea  and  as  an  injection  in  gonor- 
rhea and  catarrh  of  the  bladder.  For  these  purposes, 
as  based  on  its  domestic  employment,  the  plant  has  its 
professional  record,  but  it  has  never  been  very  impor- 
tant. 

VALERIAN  (Valerian) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

The  herbaceous  perennial  Valeriana  officinalis  is 
found  throughout  Europe  from  Spain  to  Iceland,  ex- 
tending also  from  the  Crimea  over  northern  Asia  into 
China.  It  not  only  grows  wild,  but  in  England  espe- 


340  PHARMACOPEIA!,  DRUGS 

cially  is  cultivated  as  a  drug  plant.  It  was  known  to 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  the  wild  nard  described  by 
Dioscorides  (194)  and  Pliny  (514)  is  supposed  to  be  a 
species  of  valerian,  of  which  nine  species  are  found  in 
Asia  Minor,  in  addition  to  Valeriana  officinalis.  The 
name  Valerian,  however,  was  not  used  by  the  classical 
writers,  occurring  first  in  the  9th  and  10th  centuries 
A.  D.  It  is  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  names  of  home 
remedies,  and  in  domestic  books,  as  early  as  the  llth 
century.  Saladinus  (570)  of  Ascoli,  1450,  directed  that 
the  root  be  collected  in  the  month  of  August.  In  medi- 
eval days  in  England,  the  flavor  of  valerian  was  con- 
sidered by  the  common  people  a  delightful  addition  to 
broths  and  pottages,  Gerarde  (262)  in  his  Herbatt, 
1567,  remarking  that  the  poorer  classes  of  people  in  the 
north  of  England  did  not  consider  such  forms  of  food 
worth  anything  without  it.  Strangely  enough,  the  odor 
of  valerian,  now  considered  exceedingly  disagreeable, 
was  in  the  16th  century  accepted  as  a  perfume,  and  as 
a  perfume  it  is  still  used  in  the  Orient.  In  this  connec- 
tion we  will  add  that  we  have  known  valerian  to  be  a 
constituent  of  an  American  perfume  very  popular 
with  some  ladies,  but  exceedingly  unpleasant  to  some 
others.  In  domestic  medicine,  a  tea  from  the  root  of 
valerian  has  been  employed  as  a  stimulant  and  anti- 
spasmodic  in  nervous  diseases  peculiar  to  females. 

VANILLA  (Vanilla) 

Introduced  into  the  U.  S.  P.  in  1860.  Official  in  all  subse- 
quent editions,  through  1900.  It  was  dropped  in  1910,  Vanti- 
linum  (Vanillin)  taking  its  place.  Vanillin  was  first  mentioned 
in  the  edition  of  1900. 

The  plant  that  produces  vanilla  is  an  orchid,  native 
of  the  tropical  forests  of  Mexico,  but  now  grown  in 


ROSA  GALLICA,  Page  272  (No.  2) 

Upper.    MULBERRY  TREES,  STRIPPED  FOR  SILK  WORMS 

Lower.    MULBERRY  LEAVES  FOR  FEEDING  SILK  WOHMS 

(Near  Brussa,  on  the  foot  of  Mt.  Olympus.    A  city  of  silk  industry.) 

Photographed  by  Mrs.  John  Uri  Lloyd. 


VANILLA  341 

many  warm  countries,  as  Brazil,  Honduras,  Java  and 
the  West  Indies.  Mr.  C.  G.  Lloyd  has  seen  it  in  most 
of  the  botanical  gardens  in  Jamaica,  Dominica  and 
Trinidad,  although  as  an  article  of  commerce  it  is 
grown  in  but  one  island,  the  French  island  of  Guada- 
loupe. 

As  has  been  shown  by  Darwin,  most  orchids  depend 
on  insect  fertilization,  and  vanilla  is  no  exception.  In 
Mexico,  where  it  is  native,  it  is  naturally  fertilized  by 
insects,  but  when  raised  in  any  other  country,  it  must 
be  fertilized  by  artificial  means. 

The  flowers  of  vanilla  are  produced  in  axillary 
bunches  of  eight  or  ten.  They  are  of  a  pale-yellow 
color,  about  two  inches  in  diameter.  They  have  the 
usual  orchidaceous  structure,  but  are  more  regular  in 
appearance  than  most  orchids.  The  fruit  is  a  pendant 
pod  five  to  ten  inches  long,  an  inch  or  more  in 
circumference  when  fresh,  and  containing  myriads  of 
minute  seeds.  These  pods,  when  properly  cured  and 
dried,  are  the  "vanilla"  of  commerce,  so  named  from 
the  Spanish  name  for  pod,  Vaina,  hence  a  small  pod. 

The  plant  that  produces  this  pod  is  a  vine  with  a 
thick,  succulent  stem  and  entire,  thick,  smooth,  pointed 
leaves.  It  is  furnished  with  numerous  aerial  roots, 
with  which  it  clings  to  its  support.  Some  regard  the 
plant  as  a  parasite,  deriving  its  nourishment  from  the 
tree  to  which  it  clings;  others  as  an  epiphyte,  (true  of 
many  orchids),  living  entirely  on  moisture  and  the 
nourishment  derived  from  the  air.  (John  M.  Maisch, 
Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1892,  p.  555).  Neither  opinion  is 
exact.  After  the  vanilla  plant  has  established  itself,  it 
will  continue  to  grow,  even  if  its  connection  with  the 
ground  is  severed,  and  it  will  throw  out  new  roots  which 


342  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

reach  and  penetrate  the  ground.  Hence  it  is  to  some 
extent  epiphytic.  But  should  it  fail  to  establish  its 
connection  with  the  ground,  it  finally  withers  and  dies. 
(Charles  A.  Hires,  Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1893,  571-584; 
see  also  same  journal,  1892,  p.  554,  and  1890,  p.  308). 
Vanilla  is  in  no  sense  a  parasite.  In  the  West  Indies  it 
is  grown  in  bamboo  joints,  with  a  very  little  earth,  hung 
in  branches  of  trees. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  vitality  of  the  vanilla  plant, 
the  following,  from  Miller's  Gardener's  Dictionary, 
(5th  ed.,  London,  1763),  may  be  quoted: 

"I  had  some  branches  of  this  plant  which  were 
gathered  by  Mr.  Robert  Miller  at  Campeachy,  and 
sent  over  between  papers  by  way  of  sample,  and  had 
been  at  least  six  months  gathered  when  I  received  them; 
but  upon  opening  the  paper  I  found  the  leaves  rotten 
with  the  moisture  contained  in  them,  and  the  paper  was 
also  perished  with  it,  but  the  stems  appeared  fresh; 
upon  which  I  planted  some  of  them  in  small  pots  and 
plunged  them  into  a  hotbed  of  tanner's  bark,  where 
they  soon  put  out  leaves  and  sent  forth  roots  from  their 
joints." 

EARLY  HISTORY. — The  conquering  Spaniards  found 
vanilla  in  use  as  a  flavor  for  cacao  among  the  Aztecs  of 
Mexico,  and  naturally  made  the  plant  known  to  Europe. 
(A.  V.  Humboldt,  Essai  Politique  sur  le  Royaume  de  la 
Nouvelle  Espagne.  1811.  Vol.  II,  p.  338;  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  198  et  seq.)  It  was  then  described  and  figured  by 
Hernandez,  (314),  the  "Pliny  of  the  Spaniards,"  who 
in  his  history  of  Mexico  mentions  it  under  both  its 
botanical  name,  "Aracus  aromaticus,"  and  its  vernacu- 
lar name,  "tlilxochitl."  Clusius  (153)  mentions  it  in 
1602  as  "lobus  oblongus  aromaticus."  Pomet  (519)  in 


VANILLA  343 

1694,  reports  the  use  of  vanilla  in  France  to  flavor 
chocolate  and  sometimes  to  perfume  snuff.  As  early  as 
1721  vanilla  was  introduced  into  the  London  Pharma- 
copeia, and  in  1739  Mr.  Ph.  Miller  planted  some  speci- 
mens (Vanilla  aromatica,  Swartz)  in  the  Chelsea  botan- 
ical garden.  In  1724  P.  Labat  (365),  a  Catholic  mis- 
sionary, reports  (from  hearsay),  the  abundant  occur- 
rence of  vanilla  in  the  "terre  ferme"  of  Cayenne,  from 
which  place  specimens  were  forwarded  to  him  in  1697 
to  Martinique,  where  he  cultivated  the  plant  and  for 
eight  years  observed  its  habits.  He  also  planted  vanilla 
in  Guadaloupe.  In  1750  P.  Gumilla  met  vanilla  in  the 
Orinoco  country.  (Fliickiger.)  But  to  Humboldt  (331) 
we  owe  the  first  authentic  and  detailed  report  on  Mexi- 
can vanilla.  The  Mexican  province  of  Oaxaca  supplied 
the  first  vanilla  export  to  Spain,  and  the  bean  was  dis- 
covered in  this  province  by  De  Menonville  in  1777. 
(Gardener's  Chronicle,  May  23, 1874,  Am.  Journ.  Pharm., 
1874).  According  to  old  archives,  (Hires),  vanilla  forests 
have  been  in  cultivation  at  Papantla,  near  Vera  Cruz, 
as  early  as  1760. 

The  species  yielding  the  finest  flavored  vanilla,  later 
named  Vanilla  planifolia,  Andrews,  was  imported  from 
America  into  England  by  Charles  Greville,  this  flower- 
ing in  his  collection  at  Paddington  in  1807.  Specimens 
of  this  plant  were  later  transferred  to  Paris  and  Bel- 
gium, from  whence  the  botanical  gardens  of  Reunion 
and  Java  were  supplied.  In  1830  Neumann  introduced 
the  artificial  fertilization  of  vanilla  in  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes  at  Paris,  and  in  1837  Professor  Morren  did  the 
same  at  Liege.  The  Java  plantation,  started  in  1841, 
in  the  year  1897  supplied  the  Dutch  market,  solely. 
(Beringer). 


344  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

The  Reunion  plantation,  according  to  Delteuil,  was 
started  by  Perrottet  (239)  in  1839.  The  cultivation  of 
vanilla  for  the  purpose  of  export  was  subsequently 
introduced  into  other  French  colonies,  e.  g.  into  Mauri- 
tius by  M.  Richard  (550),  into  Guadaloupe  in  1875, 
Martinique,  Ste.  Marie  (near  Madagascar),  and  into 
Tahiti  of  the  Society  Islands.  In  Jamaica,  individual 
attempts  to  cultivate  vanilla  are  on  record.  Its  cultiva- 
tion in  Calcutta,  however,  according  to  reports  by 
Dr.  King,  seems  to  be  a  failure.  (Phar.  Journ.  & 
Trans.,  Nov.,  1876).  Suggestions  have  been  made  of  a 
more  energetic  prosecution  of  its  culture  in  Jamaica, 
in  Venezuela  and  Guiana;  also  of  its  introduction  into 
the  extreme  southern  parts  of  the  United  States, 
Florida  and  Texas.  (Am.  Journ.  Phar.,  1857). 

CULTIVATION  OF  VANILLA. — Vanilla  may  be  propa- 
gated from  seeds,  or,  as  the  vine  produces  adventitious 
roots,  by  cuttings.  The  latter  method  is  almost  exclu- 
sively employed,  conducted  now  according  to  methods 
established  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  (See 
article  by  Ph.  Miller  in  the  Gardener's  Dictionary, 
1763).  A  warm  and  moist  climate,  sandy  soil,  moist 
but  not  marshy,  a  mixture  of  shade  and  sunshine,  the 
shade  predominating,  are  essential  to  its  successful  culti- 
vation. The  temperature  should  average  from  75  to 
80°  F.,  but  should  not  fall  below  65°  F.  in  winter.  An 
extremely  high  temperature  is  -likewise  disastrous. 
Dr.  King  of  the  Calcutta  Botanical  Gardens  (1876), 
reported  that  an  extremely  high  temperature  caused 
pod-laden  plants  to  drop  their  fruit  prematurely. 

Vanilla  plantations  in  Mexico  differ  from  those  in  the 
French  dominion  (Reunion),  in  that  in  Mexico  the 
vanilla  growers  permit  the  vine  to  climb  trees  to  any 


VANILLA  345 

height  and  in  any  direction,  while  in  the  French  planta- 
tions the  vine  is  guided  along  trellises  in  such  a  way  as 
to  permit  of  easy  access.  Another  distinction  has  been 
cited  in  that  the  Mexicans  rely  on  natural  methods  for 
fertilization  of  the  flowers,  while  in  Reunion  the  flowers 
are  fertilized  artificially. 

The  tendrils  should  be  tied  with  several  flat  strips, 
not  round  twine,  as  the  latter  seems  to  strangle  the 
plant.  The  bast  or  fiber  from  the  leaf  of  Pandanus 
vacoa  is  used  for  this  purpose.  The  plantation  should 
not  be  too  near  the  seashore,  unless  protected  by  forests 
to  ward  off  the  salt  air,  which  sickens  the  plants.  Flow- 
ers appear  in  March,  and  continue  until  May. 

FECUNDATION  OF  THE  FLOWERS  IN  REUNION. — Ob- 
servation and  some  reflection  have  shown  that  the  yield 
of  vanilla  may  be  improved  considerably  by  artificial 
fecundation  of  the  flower.  In  Mexico,  where  fertiliza- 
tion is  left  to  natural  influences,  the  wind  and  the  action 
of  insects,  twelve  to  twenty-six  inches  of  vine  will  pro- 
duce about  forty  flowers,  and  only  one  pod,  while  all 
the  flowers  might  have  been  artificially  fertilized.  The 
obstacle  to  spontaneous  fertilization  being  the  inter- 
position of  the  labellum,  (the  upper  lip  of  the  stigmatic 
orifice),  between  the  stigma  and  the  anther,  artificial 
fecundation  was  formerly  effected  in  Reunion  by 
merely  cutting  away  this  obstacle.  But  later,  following 
the  observation  of  a  Creole  slave,  it  was  found  as  easy 
simply  to  slip  the  labellum  from  under  the  anther, 
whereby  the  latter  organ  comes  into  direct  contact  with 
the  stigma,  thus  effecting  fertilization.  Fecundation 
must  be  carried  out  judiciously,  to  prevent  the  degen- 
eration of  the  fruit;  it  is,  for  example,  possible  to  obtain 
as  many  as  3,500  pods  on  a  single  plant,  but  such  a 


346  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

demand  upon  the  plant's  vitality  would  cause  it  to 
perish  before  the  pods  could  ripen. 

GATHERING  THE  VANILLA. — The  vine  blossoms  from 
March  to  June;  the  pod  matures  in  about  two  and  one- 
half  months,  but  does  not  ripen  until  January  or  Feb- 
ruary. Some  persons  consider  that  a  greenish-yellow 
color  of  the  pod  establishes  its  ripeness,  while  others 
contend  that  the  only  sure  criterion  is  the  crackling 
sound  produced  when  the  ripe  pod  is  pinched  between 
the  fingers.  Unfortunately,  most  vanilla  is  picked 
before  it  ripens,  as  early  as  October  or  November,  one 
reason  being  a  demand  for  the  new  crop. 

CURING  VANILLA. — The  value  of  vanilla  depends 
greatly  on  the  success  of  the  curing  process,  for  during 
the  manipulation  the  flavor  of  the  bean  is  developed  by 
a  peculiar,  artificial  fermentation.  J.  Ch.  Sawer  (574) 
makes  the  following  statements  with  regard  to  the 
processes  employed  in  Mexico,  and  also  hi  Reunion, 
Peru  and  Guiana: 

CURING  IN  MEXICO. — From  Sawer  we  extract  as 
follows: 

"The  pods  are  placed  in  heaps  under  a  shed,  protected 
from  sun  and  rain,  and  in  a  few  days,  when  they  begin 
to  shrivel,  they  are  submitted  to  the  sweating  process. 
If  the  weather  happens  to  be  warm  and  fine,  the  pods 
are  spread  out  in  the  early  morning  on  a  woolen  blanket 
and  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  the  dark 
coffee-color  which  they  acquire  being  deeper  in  propor- 
tion to  the  success  of  the  sweating  operation.  In  cloudy 
weather  the  vanilla  is  made  into  bundles;  a  number  of 
them  are  packed  together  into  a  small  bale,  which  is 
first  wrapped  in  a  woolen  cloth,  then  in  a  coating  of 
banana  leaves,  and  the  whole,  inclosed  in  a  mat,  is 


VANILLA  347 

firmly  bound  and  sprinkled  with  water.  The  bales  con- 
taining the  largest  beans  are  now  placed  in  an  oven 
heated  to  140°  F.  When  the  temperature  of  the  oven 
has  fallen  to  113°  F.,  the  smaller  beans  are  introduced, 
and  the  oven  is  closed  tight.  Twenty-four  hours  after- 
ward the  smaller  beans  are  taken  out,  and  twelve  hours 
later,  the  larger  ones.  During  the  sweating  the  vanilla 
acquires  a  fine  chestnut  color.  It  is  now  spread  on 
matting,  exposed  to  the  sun  every  day  for  about  two 
months,  and  when  the  drying  is  .nearly  complete,  is 
spread  out  in  a  dry  place,  and  finally  tied  up  in  small 
packs."  (Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  1881,  pp.  345-349;  see  also 
Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  1880-81,  pp.  773-775). 

Finally,  the  bundles  are  packed  in  cans  containing 
forty  bundles  each,  and  four  or  five  of  these  cans  are 
packed  in  a  case  of  Mexican  red  cedar,  which  is  the 
most  suitable  and  plentiful  wood  in  the  vanilla  land. 
These  hand-made  cases  cost  from  $2  to  S3,  but  there 
are  no  saw  mills  to  cheapen  the  lumber  (in  1897). 
Finally  they  are  covered  with  fiber  matting  and  trans- 
ported to  the  seashore  by  caravans  of  mules  or  burros, 
each  beast  having  two  cases  strapped  to  its  back,  and 
during  the  journey  it  is  watched  by  two  or  three  at- 
tendants. So  opposed  are  the  natives  to  the  in- 
troduction of  a  railroad,  as  to  have  led  them  to  hang 
a  civil  engineer  who  desired  to  survey  the  country. 
(Hires). 

COMMERCIAL  VARIETIES. — Beringer,  in  1892,  (Am. 
Jour.  Phar.,  1892,  pp.  289-294),  described  the  following 
species  of  vanilla  found  on  the  American  market: 

Mexican,  Bourbon,  Seychelles,  Mauritius,  Tahiti, 
South  American  vanilla,  and  vanillons. 

The  Mexican  vanilla,  on  account  of  its  superior  aro- 


348  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

matic  flavor,  commands  the  highest  market  price. 
Mr.  Beringer  describes  it  as  follows: 

"Prime  Mexican  vanilla  is  from  eight  to  ten  inches 
long,  flattened,  and  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  at  the  broadest  part.  Its  upper  end  or  end  of 
attachment  tapers  gradually  for  about  one-quarter  of 
the  length  of  the  pod,  and  is  usually  curved  and  slightly 
twisted  toward  the  point.  The  lower  end  is  but  very 
slightly  attenuated.  The  color  is  a  dark  brown,  and 
the  odor  is  pleasant,  aromatic  and  characteristic.  The 
surface  is  ridged  longitudinally,  the  ridges  being  inter- 
spersed with  finer  striations  and  warty  excrescences. 
The  pods  feel  firmly  plump,  and  while  fresh  the  surface 
is  somewhat  viscid,  but  nevertheless  there  is  a  roughness 
to  the  touch  which  becomes  more  pronounced  as  it  gets 
older  and  dryer.  Acicular  crystals  commence  to  form 
at  the  ends,  and  gradually  extend  over  the  surface. 
The  interior  is  filled  with  numerous  black  seeds  and  a 
small  quantity  of  pulp." 

The  crystals  covering  vanilla  beans  that  have  been 
cured  are  called  "frost."  Until  1859  they  were  be- 
lieved to  consist  of  benzoic  add,  but  in  that  year  Gobley 
established  its  distinction  from  that  substance,  and 
gave  it  the  name  vanillin,  believing  that  in  this  sub- 
stance was  found  the  aromatic  principle  of  vanilla. 
However,  the  subsequent  artificial  production  of  vanil- 
lin has  not  been  able  to  displace  the  use  of  the  beans. 
Neither  has  the  amount  of  the  vanillin  present  in  va- 
nilla beans  been  accepted  as  a  criterion  of  their  quality. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  best  Mexican  vanilla  has  been 
found  to  contain  only  1.69  per  cent  vanillin,  while 
Bourbon  contained  2.48,  and  Java  2.75  per  cent  va- 
nillin. Sometimes  benzoic  acid  is  dusted  over  an  in- 


VANILLA  349 

ferior  bean  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  high-grade 
article.  This  may  be  recognized,  according  to  Schim- 
mel  &  Co.,  (1888),  by  abstracting  the  benzoic  acid 
crystals  with  sodium  carbonate,  adding  sulphuric  acid 
and  metallic  magnesium  or  zinc;  the  odor  of  oil  of 
bitter  almond  will  then  be  developed. 

STATISTICS. — Formerly  the  Oaxaca  and  Vera  Cruz 
provinces  were  the  principal  vanilla-growing  districts 
in  Mexico,  yielding  in  1802  1,793,000  pods.  (Hum- 
boldf).  In  1897  Papantla  and  Misantla  were  the  center 
of  vanilla  culture  (Hires),  and  the  crop  had  increased 
from  700,000  pods  in  1866  to  the  enormous  amount  of 
15,000,000  pods  in  1893,  this  figure  being  the  average 
for  the  preceding  ten  years.  From  Vera  Cruz  only 
100,000  pods  were  received.  The  United  States  im- 
ports in  1891  (Beringer)  were:  Mexican,  135,875  Ibs., 
Reunion,  Seychelles  and  Mauritius,  10,000  Ibs.,  South 
America,  9,000  Ibs.,  Tahiti,  5,000  Ibs.  In  1896  the  total 
imports  into  the  United  States  rose  from  137,000  Ibs. 
of  the  preceding  year  to  about  237,000  Ibs.,  representing 
a  value  of  over  $1,000,000.  (Oil,  Paint  and  Drug  Re- 
porter, Mar.  8,  1897,  Supplement). 

In  searching  for  data  concerning  vanilla  in  1897,  we 
corresponded  with  Dr.  V.  C.  Price,  President  of  the 
Price  Flavoring  Extract  Company,  of  Chicago,  one  of 
the  heaviest  consumers  of  Mexican  vanilla  in  the  world, 
and  to  him  we  were  indebted  for  much  information,  in- 
cluding the  statement  that  the  beans  should  be  at  least  a 
year  old  before  they  are  extracted.  He  stated  that  they 
must  be  closely  watched,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from 
moulding,  and  that  after  they  mould  lice  quickly  ap- 
pear, and  the  value  of  the  beans  is  rapidly  destroyed. 
Dr.  Price  also  stated  that  within  the  year  the  value  of 


350  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

Mexican  vanilla  had  about  doubled,  and  that  no  other 
bean  is  capable  of  making  high-grade  extract.  The 
quoted  prices  of  vanilla  in  1897,  per  pound,  were  as  fol- 
lows: Best  Mexican,  $16;  Bourbon,  $12;  South  Amer- 
ican, $6;  Tahiti,  $5;  Brazil,  $5.  (Amer.  Druggist,  1897, 
p.  214). 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  PHARMACOPEIAL 
RECORD. — A  disease  to  which  the  name  "vanillism"  is 
given  has  been  observed  to  afflict  persons  profession- 
ally engaged  in  the  handling  of  vanilla.  Humboldt 
states  that  the  Spaniards  abstained  from  the  use  of  va- 
nilla, as  they  ascribed  to  it  a  harmful  influence  upon  the 
nervous  system.  Its  use  as  a  medicine  has  become 
obsolete  in  most  countries. 

The  plant  was  official  in  the  Spanish  Pharmacopeia 
of  1817,  but  was  not  official  in  the  edition  of  1885.  The 
Pharmacopeia  Portugueza  of  1876,  however,  carried  it 
under  the  name  of  baunilha.  The  London  Pharma- 
copeia adopted  vanilla  in  1721,  but  soon  discarded  it. 
It  does  not  appear  in  recent  British  Pharmacopeias. 
Vanilla,  from  Vanilla  planifolia,  Andrews,  is  official  in 
various  editions  of  German,  French  and  U.  S.  Pharma- 
copeias. 

VERATRUM   VIRIDE 

(Veratrum,  American  Hellebore) 

Mentipned  in  all  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 
In  all  editions  preceding  1880,  Veratrum  album  (White  Helle- 
bore), is  given  equal  prominence  with  Veratrum  viride. 

Veratrum  viride  is  an  American  plant,  known  under 
the  common  names  itch-weed,  Indian  poke,  American 
hellebore  and  swamp  hellebore.  It  is  found  in  swampy 
soil  and  meadows  East  and  South,  and  along  streams, 
coming  up  among  the  earliest  swamp  plants.  It  often 


VERATRUM  VIRIDE  351 

grows  with  skunk  cabbage,  with  which  its  root  is  some- 
tunes  mixed  in  commerce.  Josselyn,  1672,  first  refers 
to  it.  He  with  others  considered  it  the  European  Ver- 
atrum  album.  Following,  Kalm,  1753,  Cutler,  1785, 
Schopf,  1787,  Aiton,  1789,  Barton,  1798,  Bigelow,  1818, 
Thacher,  1821,  Rafinesque,  1830,  and  all  subsequent 
American  botanists  gave  it  attention,  the  earlier  writers 
considering  it  to  be  Veratrum  album,  to  which  it  is 
closely  related.  In  1742  the  plant  was  introduced  into 
Europe,  (Loudon),  but  Aiton,  1789,  states  that  to  Col- 
linson  in  1763  is  due  the  honor.  Credit  for  the  name  is 
usually  given  Aiton,  but  is  really  due  William  Solander, 
a  pupil  of  Linnseus. 

Peter  Kahri  (350)  states  that  Veratrum  viride  is  very 
common  in  marshy  places,  and  frequently  causes  the 
death  of  stock,  which  eat  the  young  leaves  in  the  spring; 
also  that  the  settlers  employed  a  decoction  of  the  root 
to  poison  the  seed-corn,  to  prevent  birds  from  eating  it; 
also  that  the  root  was  used  as  an  insecticide.  Maisch 
considered  the  leaves  innocuous.  Frederick  V.  Coville 
informs  us  that  sheep  in  the  West  fatten  on  the  leaves 
and  stems,  and  that  stockmen  call  it  Wild  Indian  Corn. 
Corn  steeped  in  decoction  of  the  rhizome  (Cutler)  poi- 
sons crows.  Owing  to  its  emetic  qualities,  the  drug  is 
seldom  fatal  to  man,  but  overdoses  are  distressingly 
energetic,  and  although  we  have  never  known  a  fatal 
case  from  its  use,  veratrum  is  classed  with  substances 
to  be  used  with  care.  With  Professor  A.  J.  Howe, 
M.  D.,  veratrum  was  a  great  favorite.  The  drug  was 
early  known,  (Thacher,  Zollicoffer,  Bigelow,  etc.),  but 
as  is  true  of  many  other  valuable  American  remedial 
agents,  it  has  been  much  neglected.  Its  insecticide 
.qualities  and  its  emetic  property  led  to  its  use  by  both 


352  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

the  Indians  and  the  early  American  settlers,  who  used 
it  both  in  form  of  ointment  and  in  decoction. 

American  veratrum  is  conceded  by  all  modern  bot- 
anists to  be  a  distinct  species.  It  is  so  close,  however, 
to  Veratrum  album  of  Europe,  that  the  early  explorers 
of  America,  and  some  of  the  earlier  botanists,  Michaux, 
Josselyn  (345),  Kalm  (350),  Schopf  (582),  etc., 
thought  it  the  same  species.  Certainly  the  rhizomes 
of  both  plants  bear  a  close  resemblance,  even  in  their 
microscopical  aspects.  (E.  S.  Bastin,  Am.  Jour.  Phar. 
1895,  p.  196). 

VIBURNUM  OPULUS  (Cramp  Bark) 

Mentioned  in  but  two  editions  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  those  of  1890 
and  1900. 

High  cranberry,  Viburnum  Opulus,  known  also  as 
cramp  bark,  is  a  shrub  growing  in  swamps  and  damp 
localities  of  the  northern  United  States.  The  bark  of 
this  shrub  was  used  by  the  Indians  (535)  as  a  diuretic, 
a  decoction  being  freely  employed.  According  to  Ra- 
finesque  (535),  pills  and  plasters  were  also  devised  from 
this  plant,  and  the  bark  was  smoked  instead  of  tobacco 
by  some  of  the  Western  Indian  tribes.  The  leaves  of 
Viburnum  Opulus  and  other  species  of  Viburnum  were 
used  by  the  Indians  as  a  tea,  and  also  by  the  settlers  of 
the  southern  states  in  early  Colonial  days.  The  domes- 
tic use  of  viburnum  did  not  impress  the  medical  profes- 
sion to  any  extent  until  the  day  of  Beach  (49),  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  such  conspicuous  author- 
ities as  Zollickoffer  (706),  and  even  the  United  States 
Dispensatory,  1833  edition,  neglected  to  mention  either 
the  plant  or  its  uses.  At  present,  authors  who  believe 
the  direct  physiological  action  of  drugs  essential  to 
therapeutic  usefulness,  also  neglect  viburnum. 


COLLECTING  PERSIAN  INSECT  FLOWERS 
.  .    Presented  by  Allaire  Woodward  <fe  Company. 


VIBURNUM  PRUNIFOLIUM  353 

In  1913,  Mr.  Oliver  A.  Farwell,  of  Parke,  Davis  & 
Company  (116a)  established  that  the  bark  of  Acer  spi- 
catum,  under  the  name  "Cramp  bark,"  was  being  used 
instead  of  Viburnum  Opulus.  Investigation  demon- 
strated that  practically  the  total  drug  of  commerce,  at 
that  date,  was  derived  from  this  tree.  Just  when  the 
substitution  began  has  not  been  determined. 

VIBURNUM  PRUNIFOLIUM  (Black  Haw) 

Introduced  into  U.  S.  P.  in  1880.  Official  in  all  editions 
following,  including  that  of  1910,  which  makes  official  the  bark 
of  Viburnum  prunifolium,  or  of  Viburnum  Lentago. 

Black  haw,  Viburnum  prunifolium.  The  bark  of  this 
tree  was  employed  in  American  domestic  medication 
during  the  first  part  of  the  19th  century.  The  first 
authentic  reference  we  have  observed  is  in  the  American 
Family  Physician,  1857,  by  Professor  John  King,  M.  D. 
(356),  who  describes  the  drug,  and  makes  the  statement 
that  it  acts  as  a  uterine  tonic,  its  uses,  as  given  by 
Dr.  King,  being  practically  those  now  recorded  of  this 
remedy  in  current  medical  literature.  In  1860  Dr. 
I.  J.  M.  Goss,  (New  Preparations,  1878,  p.  61),  com- 
mended the  drug,  probably  brought  to  his  attention 
through  the  to  him  familiar  writings  of  King,  as  well, 
possibly,  as  from  its  local  use  in  his  part  of  the  South. 
(Dr.  Goss  lived  in  Atlanta,  Georgia.)  He  introduced 
it  into  his  own  practice,  and  commended  it  to  his  pro- 
fessional friends.  From  this  date  "black  haw"  grew 
rapidly  in  favor,  and  through  repeated  notice  in  medical 
as  well  as  pharmaceutical  literature,  came  into  exten- 
sive demand,  being  finally  given  a  position  in  the  Phar- 
macopeia of  the  United  States.  Being  possessed  of  no 
toxic  qualities  or  immediate  physiological  action,  it  is 
considered  by  some  writers  "valueless"  in  therapy. 


354  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

XANTHOXYLUM  (Prickly  Ash) 

Official  from  1820  to  1910.  In  the  editions  of  1820  and  (2nd 
edition)  1828,  it  was  mentioned  in  the  Primary  List,  but  in 
following  editions  it  was  relegated  to  the  Secondary  List  until 
1880,  when  it  became  wholly  official.  Xanthoxylum  of  the  U. 
S.  P.,  1910,  is  the  bark  of  Xanthoxylum  americanum  (Northern 
Prickly  Ash  of  commerce),  or  of  Xanthoxylum  Clava-Herculis. 

Prickly  ash,  Xanthoxylum  americanum,  is  a  shrub 
native  to  North  America,  being  somewhat  abundant  in 
localities  where  it  is  found,  between  the  Mississippi 
River  and  the  Western  States.  Long  a  domestic  rem- 
edy, it  became  a  favorite  in  the  Eclectic  school  of  medi- 
cine by  reason  of  its  use  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
Asiatic  cholera  in  Cincinnati,  1849,  when  it  was  em- 
ployed by  them  with  great  satisfaction.  It  had,  how- 
ever, a  domestic  as  well  as  a  seemingly  professional 
record  preceding  that  date,  the  same  reaching  back  to 
the  primitive  medication  of  the  Indians.  Barton's 
Collection  (43),  Zollickoffer's  (706)  Materia  Medica, 
1826,  and  other  authorities  on  the  domestic  remedies  of 
North  America  mention  Xanthoxylum  conspicuously, 
the  latter  writer  stating  that  the  berries  were  used  to 
relieve  the  toothache,  and  a  decoction  of  the  bark  hi 
the  treatment  of  rheumatic  affections,  whilst  the  coun- 
try people  employed  an  infusion  of  the  berries  in  colic. 
It  was  therefore  a  popular  remedy,  possessed  of  marked 
carminative  qualities  that,  impressing  such  men  as 
Barton  (43),  Thacher  (631),  King  (356,  357),  Zollic- 
koffer  (706)  and  others,  brought  it  into  professional 
recognition.  Prickly  ask  berries  are  used  in  large 
amount  in  some  of  the  American  proprietary  remedies. 


ZINGIBER  355 

ZEA— STIGMATA  MAYDIS  (Corn  Silk) 

Mentioned  in  but  two  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  in  1890  and  1900. 
Corn  silk,  Zea,  or  Stigmata  maydis,  seems  to  have 
crept  into  the  notice  of  the  medical  profession  in  Europe 
before  it  had  any  conspicuity  in  America.  In  1878 
(Revista  de  Madrid)  a  Dr.  Betherand  mentioned  it  in 
print.  Long  preceding  that  date,  however,  a  tea  of 
corn  silk  had  been  employed  in  American  domestic 
practice  as  a  remedy  for  acute  affections  of  the  bladder. 
Dr.  John  Davis,  a  well-known  Cincinnati  physician  of 
the  highest  reputation,  repeatedly  informed  the  writer 
that,  in  his  opinion,  a  decoction  of  corn  silk,  together 
with  a  decoction  of  dried  pods  of  beans,  was  the  most 
effective  of  all  diuretics  he  had  employed  in  his  practice, 
as  well  as  being  most  satisfactory  in  acute  cystitis. 
The  Medical  News,  August  10,  1881,  commended  a  de- 
coction of  corn  silk  in  the  above  named  directions,  and 
in  the  Therapeutic  Gazette  (634),  February,  1881,  Pro- 
fessor L.  W.  Benson  reported  that  in  his  practice  the 
remedy  acted  very  favorably  and  kindly.  Following 
this,  various  contributions  appeared  in  the  foreign 
medical  journals,  one  by  Dr.  Dufau  in  the  London  Medi- 
cal Record,  speaking  of  it  as  a  little  known,  newly  intro- 
duced remedy.  Following  this  came  many  commend- 
atory articles  in  European  medical  journals,  which 
fact,  together  with  the  increased  demand  for  the  prep- 
aration, led  to  its  introduction  into  the  Pharmacopeia 
of  the  United  States. 

ZINGIBER  (Ginger) 
Official  in  all  editions  of  U.  S.  P.,  from  1820  to  1910. 

Ginger,  Zingiber  officinale,  a  reed-like  plant,  native 
to  Asia,  has  been  introduced  to  most  tropical  countries, 


356  PHARMACOPEIAL  DRUGS 

growing  freely  in  some  parts  of  the  West  Indies,  South 
America,  Western  Africa,  Australia,  etc.  It  was  ex- 
tensively used  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  who  con- 
sidered it  an  Arabian  product  because  it  came  to  them, 
among  spices  from  India,  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea.  It 
was  an  article  of  common  import  from  the  East  to 
Europe  from  the  llth  to  the  13th  centuries  A.  D.,  and 
probably  for  a  long  period  preceding  that  time.  Ginger 
was  taxed  as  a  spice,  in  common  with  pepper,  cloves, 
galangal,  cubebs,  etc.  It  was  frequently  named  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  domestic  works  on  medicine  of  the  llth 
century,  and  was  used  by  the  Welsh  physicians  (507) 
of  the  13th  and  14th  centuries,  being  then  next  to  pep- 
per in  common  use.  Marco  Polo  (518)  observed  it  in 
China  and  India  about  1280-90.  In  fact,  ginger  has 
been  a  spice  and  a  domestic  remedy  from  the  earliest 
records,  being  extensively  employed,  both  as  a  spice 
and  as  an  aromatic  stomachic.  It  is  still  a  popular 
domestic  remedy,  as  well  as  a  favorite  with  many 
physicians. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  text  numbers  in  parentheses  refer  to  corre- 
sponding numbers  in  the  Bibliography.  Had  the  full 
titles  of  the  publications  to  which  references  are  made 
followed  each  subject  (Lobelia  an  example),  voluminous 
repetition  would  have  resulted.  Inasmuch  as  nearly 
eight  hundred  authors  are  credited,  embracing  in  the 
neighborhood  of  one  thousand  titles,  such  duplications 
would  have  much  lengthened  the  volume. 

As  it  is,  many  authors  are  credited  in  the  body  of 
the  work  or  by  footnotes.  Several  breaks  in  the  num- 
bers of  the  bibliography  will  be  observed,  due  to  re- 
arrangements found  necessary  as  the  work  progressed. 

To  the  late  Librarian  of  the  Lloyd  Library,  Captain 
William  Holden  (deceased),  and  to  his  successor,  Miss 
Edith  Wycoff,  the  writer's  thanks  are  due  for  assistance 
in  the  comprehensive  compilation  of  this  portion  of  the 
work.  

1.  Abet,  F.  J. 

Le  Chimaphila  umbellata  (herbe  a  pisser) :  son  action 
diuretique.    Paris,    1889. 

2.  Abu  Mansur  Mowasik  ben  All  al  hervi. 

Liber  fundamentorum  pharmacologise.     Vindobonse, 
1830-3.    (German  ed.    Halle,  1893). 

3.  Acosta,  Cristobal. 

Tractado  de  las  drogas.    Burgos,  1578.     (Later  edi- 
tions in  French,  Latin,  and  Italian). 

4.  Actuarius,  Joannes. 

De  medicamentorum  compositione.     Basilese,  (1539). 
Methodi  medendi  libri  sex.    Venetiis,  1554. 
357 


358  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

5.  Acufia,  C.  de. 

Nuevo  descubrimiento  del  gran  rio  de  las  Amazonas. 
Madrid,  1641. 

6.  Aetius,  Amidenus. 

Librorum    medicinaliura    tomus    primus.      Venetiis, 

1534.    (Greek  text). 
Librorum  medicinalium,   libri   xvi.     Basilese,   1535. 

(Later  editions). 

7.  Ainslie,  W. 

Materia  medica.    2  v.    London,  1826. 
Materia  medica  of  Hindostan.    Madras,  1813. 

8.  Aiton,  William. 

Hortus  Kewensis.    3  v.    London,  1789. 

9.  Albert,  P. 

Observations  sur  le  chanvre  indigene.  Strasbourg, 
1859. 

10.  Albertus   Magnus. 

Alberti  Magni  ex  ordine  praedicatorum  de  vegeta- 
bilibus  libri  vii.  Berolini,  1867. 

11.  Alexander  Trallianus. 

Alexandri  Tralliani  medici  lib.  xii.  Lutetiae,  1548. 
(Greek  text).  (Later  editions). 

12.  Alibert,  J.  L. 

Nouveaux  elemens  de  therapeutique  et  de  matiere 
medicale.  Paris,  1804.  (Later  editions,  French 
and  Italian). 

13.  Allen,  T.  F. 

Encyclopedia  of  pure  materia  medica.  12  v.  N.  Y. 
and  Phila.,  1874-9. 

14.  Alpherts,  H.  G. 

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Rhenum,  1853. 

15.  Alpinus,  Prosper. 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY  359 

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16.  Altomari,  D.  A.  ab. 

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16a.  Amatus,  Lusitanus. 

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17a.  American  Journal  of  Medical  Sciences.     Philadelphia, 

1827- 

17b.  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy.    Philadelphia,  1825- 

18.  American  Medical  Journal.    Cincinnati,  1856-7. 

19.  American  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal.    Syracuse  and 

Philadelphia.    1851-2. 

20.  American  Medical  Journal.    St.  Louis,  1873- 

20a.  Amoreux,  P.  J. 

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21.  Anderson,  A. 

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22.  Angelus  a  sancto  Josepho. 

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23.  Anguillara,  Luigi. 

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24.  Apicius,  Ccelius. 

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25.  Arabian  Nights.    See  "Book  of  the  Thousand  Nights 

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360  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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26.  Archer,  J. 

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27.  Athanasius,  E. 

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28.  Audouin,  J.  V. 

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29.  Aulagne,  Emile. 

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31.  Backer,  Gerard. 

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32.  Bahr,B. 

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33.  Baillon,  H. 

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34.  Bain,  J. 

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35.  Balfour,  J.  H. 

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788). 


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36.  Balfour,  Thomas. 

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37.  Ballard,  E.  and  Garrod,  A.  B. 

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38.  Barbier,  J.  B.  C. 

TraitS  elementaire  de  matiere  m&licale.    Paris,  1819. 

39.  Barbosa,  O. 

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40.  Bardili,  C.  G.  A. 

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41.  Barnes,  J. 

Plants  used  in  medicine.    London,  1835. 

42.  Bartholow,  Roberts. 

Materia  medica  and  therapeutics.  New  York,  1876. 
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43.  Barton,  B.  S. 

Collections  towards  a  materia  medica  of  the  United 
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43a.  Barton,  W.  P.  C. 

Vegetable  materia  medica  of  the  United  States.  2  v., 
Phila.,  1817-18. 

44.  Bartram,  J. 

Descriptions,  virtues,  and  uses  of  sundry  plants  of 
these  northern  parts  of  America,  and  particularly 
of  the  newly  discovered  Indian  cure  for  the  venereal 
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45.  Bastin,  E.  S. 

The  starches  in  subterranean  stem  drugs.  (The 
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46.  Bauderon,  Bricius. 

Paraphrase  sur  la  pharmacopes.  2  ed.  Lyon,  1596. 
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362  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

47.  Bauhin,  J.  and  Cherler,  J.  H. 

Historia  plantarum  universalis.  3  v.  Ebroduni, 
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48.  Bauhin,  Kaspar. 

Pinax  theatri  botanici.  Basilea?,  1623.  (Another 
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49.  Beach,  Wooster. 

American  practice  of  medicine.     New  York,   1833. 

(Later  editions). 
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50.  Beauvisage,  G.  E.  C. 

Les  galles  utiles.    Paris,  1883. 

51.  Becher,  J.  J. 

Parnassus  medicinalis  illustratus.    Ulm,  1662-3. 

52.  Beck,  John  B. 

Lectures  on  materia  medica  and  therapeutics.  New 
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53.  Becker,  G.  A. 

Etudes  botaniques,  chimiques  et  toxicologiques  sur 
la  digitale  pourpre'e.  Strasbourg,  1864. 

54.  Bell,  J.  and  Redwood,  T. 

Historical  sketch  of  the  progress  of  pharmacy  in 
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55.  Bengal,  V. 

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55a.  Benjamin  of  Tudela. 

Itinerary,  translated  and  edited  by  A.  Asher,    2  v., 

London,  1840-41.    (Original  in  Latin,  1575). 
55b.  Bennett,  A. 

An  experimental  inquiry  into  the  physiological  action 
of  theine,  guaranine,  cocaine,  and  theobromine. 
(Edinburgh  Medical  Journal,  xix,  1873,  pp.  323- 
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56.  Bently,  Robert. 

On  Actaea,  or  Cimicifuga  racemosa.  (Pharm.  Journ. 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY  353 

57.  Bentley,  R.  and  Trimen,  H. 

Medicinal  plants. '  4  v.    London,  1880. 

58.  Berg,  Otto  C. 

Handbuch  der  pharmaceutischen  botanik.     Berlin, 

1845.    (Later  editions). 
Pharmazeutische  waarenkunde.   Berlin,  1852.    (Later 

editions). 

59.  Berg,  0.  C.  and  Schmidt,  C.  F. 

Anatomischer  atlas  zur  pharmaceutischen  waaren- 
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Atlas  der  officinellen  pflanzen.  2  ed.  Leipzig,  1891- 
1902. 

60.  Bergen,  Heinrich  von. 

Versuch  einer  monographic  der  China.  Hamburg, 
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61.  Bergius,  P.  J. 

Materia  medica  e  regno  vegetabili.  Stockholmiae, 
1778. 

62.  Berlu,  J.  J. 

The  treasury  of  drugs  unlock'd.    London,  1690. 

63.  Berry,  Andrew. 

Account  of  the  male  plant  which  furnishes  the  medi- 
cines generally  called  columbo  or  columba  root. 
(Asiatic  researches,  x,  1811,  p.  385). 

64.  Berthault,  J.  M.  E. 

Du  hashisch,  son  histoire,  ses  effets  physiologiques  et 
therapeutiques.  Paris,  1854. 

65.  Betiken,  L. 

De  calamo  aromatico.    Jenae,  1718. 

66.  Bidault  de  Villiers,  F.  T. 

Essai  sur  les  proprie'te's  mecttcinales  de  la  digitale 
pourpree.  Paris,  1803. 

67.  Biddle,  John  B. 

Review  of  materia  medica.    Phila.,  1852. 
Materia  medica.    Phila.,  1852.    (Later  editions). 

68.  Bierowski,  L.  J. 

Diss.  inaug.  sistens  moschi  historiani,  naturalem  et 
medicam.  Lipsise,  1830. 


364  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

69.  Bigelow,  Jacob. 

American  medical  botany.    3  v.    Boston,  1817-20. 
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United  States.    Boston,  1822. 

70.  Biggs,  A. 

Botanico-medical  reference  book.    Memphis,  1847. 

71.  Binz,  Carl. 

Vorlesungen   iiber   pharmakologie.     Berlin,    1884-6. 
(Later  editions,  German  and  English). 

72.  Bird,  F. 

Dissertation  on  the  Sanguinaria  canadensis  of  Lin- 
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73.  Bischoff,  G.  W. 

Medizinisch-pharmaceutische      botanik.     Erlangen, 
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74.  Blackett,  P.  C. 

An  essay  on  the  use  of  the  Atropa  belladonna.    Lon- 
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75.  Blackwell,  Elizabeth. 

A  curious  herbal.    2  v.    London,  1737-9. 
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76.  Blagrave,  Jos. 

Supplement,    or   enlargement    to    Nich.    Culpeper's 
English  physician.    London,  1666.    (2  ed.  1677). 

77.  Blair,  Patrick. 

Miscellaneous  observations  in  the  practice  of  physick, 

with  remarks  on  botany.    London,  1718. 
Pharmaco-botanologia.    London,  1723-28. 

78.  Blankaart,  Stephen. 

De  Nederlandschen  herbarius  of  kruidboek.    t'Am- 
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79.  Blegny,  N.  de. 

La  de"couverte  de  1'admirable  remade  anglois,  pour 
gu&ison  des  fievres.    Paris,  1680.    (Later  editions). 

80.  Blonde!,  R. 

Les  strophanthus  du  commerce.    Paris,  1888.    (Also 
Pharm.  Jour.,  xviii,  1888-9,  p.  744). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  365 

Bocquillon,  H. 
Etude  botaniques  et  pharmacologiques  des  Xantho- 

xylSes.    Paris,  1901. 
Manuel  des  plantes  medicinales  coloniales  et  exotiques. 

Paris,  1905. 
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Kreuterbuch.    Strassburg,  1539.    (Many  editions). 
Bodard,  P.  H.  H. 
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1810. 

Boeder,  Joh. 
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Boerhaave,  Hermann. 

De  materia  medica  et  remediorum  formulis.     2  ed. 
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Tractatus  de  viribus  medicamentorum.    Paris,  1723. 

(Later  editions). 
Bonavia,  E. 
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Westminster,  1894. 
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(Later  editions). 

Book  of  the  Thousand  Nights  and  a  Night;  translated 
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366  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

92.  Botanic  Advocate  and  Journal  of  Health.    Montpelier 

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93.  Botanic  Medical  Reformer  and  House  Physician.    Phil., 

1840-2. 

94.  Botanico-Medical  Recorder,  Columbus,  1837-52. 

95.  Bouton,  Louis. 

Medicinal  plants — Isle  of  Mauritius.    Mauritius,  1857. 
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96.  Bowker,  P.  F. 

The   Indian   vegetable   family   instructor.     Boston, 
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97.  Brandza,  D. 

Histoire  botanique  et  theVapeutique  des  Gentiana- 
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98.  Brickenden,  J. 

De  radice  scUlae.    Edinburgi,  1759. 
98a.  British  Medical  Journal.    London,  1857- 

99.  Bronsvick,  A. 

Les  plantes  meclicinales  de  la  flore  franc,  aise.    Epinal, 
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100.  Brotero,  F.  A. 

Description  of  Callicocca  ipecacuanha.  (Trans. 
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101.  Brower,  J.  V. 

On  the  use  of  Digitalis  purpurea,  or  purple  foxglove 
in  the  cure  of  diseases.  New  York,  1802. 

102.  Brown,  0.  P. 

Complete  herbalist.  Jersey  City,  1867.  (Later 
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103.  Brown,  William. 

Pharmacopoeia  simplicorum  &  efficaciorum  in  usum 
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104.  Browne,  J.  M. 

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105.  Bruce,  James. 

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106.  Brunck,  F.  A. 

De  coriandro.    Argentorati,  1739. 

107.  Brunfels,  Otho. 

Herbarum  vivse  eicones.  Argentorati,  1530.  (Nu- 
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108.  Brunton,  T.  L. 

On  digitalis,  with  some  observations  on  the  urine. 

London,  1868. 
Pharmacology    and    therapeutics.      London,    1880. 

(Later  editions,  English,  French,  and  Italian). 

109.  Bryarly,  W. 

Essay  on  the  Lupulus  communis  of  Gsertner;  or  the 
common  hop.  Phila.,  1805. 

110.  Buchan,  William. 

Domestic  medicine,  London,  1772.  (Many  English, 
American,  French,  Spanish  and  Italian  editions). 

111.  Buchanan,  Francis. 

Account  of  an  Indian  remedy  for  the  tapeworm. 
(Edinburgh  Med.   and  Surg.   Journ.,   1807,   pp. 
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Ilia.  Bundy,  J.  H. 

Papers  on  Eriodictyon  and  Cascara  sagrada.  (New 
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112.  Burnes,  Alexander. 

Travels  into  Bokhara.    2  v.    London,  1834. 

113.  Burton,  R.  F. 

First  foot-prints  in  East  Africa.    London,  1856. 
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114.  Buc'hoz,  J.  P. 

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368  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Buc'hoz,  J.  P. — Continued. 
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Paris,  1770. 
Manuel  medical  des  plantes.    2  v.    Paris,  1770. 

115.  Buchwald,  Johannes  de. 

Specimen  medico-practico-botanicum.  Havanise, 
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116.  Bulletins  of  the  Lloyd  Library.    Cincinnati,  1900- 
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Detroit,  Michigan.      1887- 

117.  Burger,  J. 

Ueber  colchicin.    Wiirzburg,  1859. 

118.  Burwell,  L. 

Observations  on  the  Digitalis  purpurea.  Phila., 
1805. 

119.  Cabanes,  Augustin. 

De  1'emploi  des  preparations  d'Hydrastis  canadensis 
en  medicine.  Paris,  1889. 

120.  Camerarius,  Joachim. 

Opuscula  quaedam  de  re  rustica.  Noribergae,  1577. 
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121.  Candolle,  A.  de. 

L'origine  des  plantes  cultiv^es.  Paris,  1883.  (Later 
editions  in  English,  Italian  and  German). 

122.  Candolle,  A.  P.  de. 

Description  d'un  nouveau  genre  de  plantes,  Stro- 

phanthus,  de  la  famille  des  Apocin6es.    (Ann.  Mus. 

d'  Nat.  Hist.,  Paris,  i,  1802  (1801),  pp.  408-12, 

1  pi.). 
Essai  sur  les  proprie"t4s  m£dicales  des  plantes.    Paris, 

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Recherches    botanico-me'dicales    sur    les    diverses 

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123.  Cardano,  Girolamo. 

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623.  Swediaur,  F.  X. 

Materia  medica.     Venetiis,  1802.     (Parisiis,  1802). 
Pharmacopoeia  medici  practici  universalis.    Lipsise, 
1803.      (Later  editions). 

624.  Tabernsemontanus,  J.  T. 

Neuw  Kreuterbuch.  Frankfurt  am  Main,  1588. 
(Later  editions). 

625.  Taubert,  P. 

Ueber  das  vorkommen  der  gattung  Physostigma  in 
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626.  Tavera,  T.  H.  Pardo  de. 

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627.  Tavernier,  J.  B. 

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628.  Teichmeyer,  H.  F. 

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629.  Tennent,  John. 

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630.  Tessari,  Ludovicus. 

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631.  Thacher,  James. 

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editions). 
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632.  Theobald,  John. 

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418  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

633.  Theophrastus,  Eresios. 

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634.  Therapeutic  Gazette.    Detroit,  1880- 

635.  Thompson,  H. 

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635a.  Thompson,  F.  A. 

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636.  Thomson,  A.  T. 

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637.  Thomson,  G. 

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638.  Thomson,  Samuel. 

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639.  Thomson,  Spencer. 

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640.  Thomsonian  Manual.    Boston,  1835-42. 

641.  Thomsonian    Messenger.     Norwich,   Conn.,    1841-3. 

642.  Thomsonian  Recorder.    Columbus,  1832-1837. 


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644.  Thurneisserus,  L. 

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646.  Titius,  G.  C. 

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649.  Tournefort,  J.  P.  de. 

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651.  Triller,  D.  W. 

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654.  Tully,  William. 

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420  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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657.  Vandercolme,  E.  / 

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658.  Verriet,  L.  C. 

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660.  Villard,  F. 

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661.  Vincent,  L. 

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662.  Vitman,  Fulgenzio. 

De  medicatis  herbarum  facultatibus  liber.    Faven- 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY  421 

663.  Vogel,  R.  A. 

Historia  materise  medicae.    Francofurti,  1760. 
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Examinations  of  quebracho  wood.  "Quebracho  Colo- 
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664.  Volckma.nn,  G.  I. 

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Hals  Magd.,  1725. 
664a.  Volkens,  Georg. 

Die  flora  der  Aegyptisch-Arabischen  wtiste.    Berlin, 

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665.  Vriese,  W.  H.  de. 

Plantenkunde  voor  apothekers  en  artsen.  2  v. 
Leiden,  1835-6. 

666.  Waller,  J.  A. 

The  new  domestic  herbal.    London,  1822. 

667.  Walther,  J.  F. 

De  colocynthide.    Halse  Magd.,  1734. 

668.  Wardleworth,  T.  H. 

An  essay  on  the  chemical,  botanical,  physical  and 
parturient  properties  of  the  Secale  cornutum. 
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669.  Waring,  E.  J. 

Pharmacopoeia  of  India.    London,  1868. 

Remarks  on  the  uses  of  some  of  the  bazaar  medicines 

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670.  Watson,  E. 

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Jour.  [2]  viii,  1877,  p.  614;  [3]  i,  1870-71,  p.  586). 

671.  Weddell,  H.  A. 

Note  sur  le  Cephaelis  ipecacuanha.  (Ann.  Sci.  Nat., 
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Notise  sur  la  Coca,  sa  culture,  preparation,  etc. 
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422  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

672.  Wedel,  C. 

De  elatere.    Jense,  1699. 

673.  Wedel,  G.  W. 

De  resina  ^Egyptia  Plauti.    Jense,  1700. 
De  rhabarbari  origine.    Jenae,  1708. 
De  sabina  scripturse.    Jense,  1707. 

674.  Wedel,  J.  A. 

De  camphora.    Jense,  1697. 

675.  Weissheit,  B. 

De  salvia.    Jense,  1715. 

676.  Weissius,  J.  C. 

Dissertatio  de  malo  punico.    Altdorfii,  1712. 

677.  Wellcome    chemical    research    laboratories,    London. 

Publications,  1897- 

678.  Wellcome  research  laboratory.       Gordon   Memorial 

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679.  Wepfer,  J.  J. 

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illustrata.    Basilese,  1679.    (Later  editions). 
679a.  Western  Druggist,  Chicago,  1879- 

680.  Western  Medical  Reformer.     Worthington,   1836-48. 

681.  Weyl,  J.  M. 

De  nuce  vomica.    Lugduni  Batavorum,  1798. 

682.  Weynton,  0. 

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683.  Whitlaw,  Charles. 

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684.  Wickman,  Daniel. 

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685.  Wiedermann,  C. 

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686.  Wilberding,  J.  H.  A. 

De  aurantiis  eorumque  eximo  usu  medico.     Hel- 
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687.  Wilhelmi,  J. 

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688.  Wilkiason,  J.  G. 

A  popular  account  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  2  v 
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689.  WiU,  G.  P. 

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690.  Williams,  S.  W. 

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691.  Winston,  I. 

Dissertation  on  the  Polygala  senega,  commonly 
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692.  Winterbottom,  T.  M. 

Account  of  the  native  Africans  in  the  neighborhood 
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693.  Withering,  William. 

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694.  Witte,  0. 

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695.  Wittke,  A.  F. 

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696.  Wittstein,  G.  C. 

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697.  Wolff,  E. 

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698.  Wood,  G.  B.  and  Bache,  W. 

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(Later  editions). 

699.  Wood,  H.  C.  Jr., 

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424  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

700.  Woodhull,  A.  A. 

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701.  Woodville,  William. 

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703.  Worthy,  A.  N. 

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705.  Zarda,  A.  V. 

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706.  Zollickoffer,  Wm. 

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707.  Zorn,  Johannes. 

Icones  plantarum  medicinalium.     6  v.     Nurnberg, 
1779-90. 


INDEX  TO  PERSONAL  NAMES 

In  several  instances,  the  author  has  failed  to  locate  needful  given 
names,  for  example,  p.  128,  Drs.  Ash  and  Cawley,  credited  by  Wither- 
ing as  first  to  introduce  Digitalis  to  the  medical  profession.  Again,  p. 
45,  might  be  cited  "Biararslan,"  reputed  to  have  introduced  Cannabis 
to  Persia.  The  text  connection  often  establishes  a  person's  field  of 
service  and  this  is  accordingly  given  in  parenthesis.  For  example, 

U~49,  Boiveau,  (a  French  apothecary,)  who  originated  "Rob  de 
ecteur,"  the  progenitor  of  "Swaim's  Panacea." 
In  other  instances,   a  name    is    all-sufficient,    as    for    example, 
Dymock,   Galen,  Paracelsus,  Fliickiger,   etc.     Occasionally,  names 
spelled  differently  by  good  authorities,  makes  it  necessary  to  select 
the  form  of  spelling  that  appeals  to  the  writer. 


Page 

Acosta,  Christobal 119 

Acosta,  Joseph 64 

Adair,  Dr.  C.  H..A 266 

Adanson 300 

^Egineta,  Paulus 153 

Aetius  Amidenus 217,  332 

Agnew,  Dr.  D.  Hayes 98 

Ainslie,  W 120 

Aitchison(Peruvian  Traveler) 

22,  270 

Aiton,  William 351 

Alhervi  (See  Bibliography) .    333 

Allaire,  C.  B 106,  108 

Alexander  Trallianus, 

141,  269,  288 

Allion,  M 149 

Ali  Istakhri 19,     21 

Aipiar,  Agop 230,  298 

Amatus  Lusitanus 33 

Amoreaux,  P.  J 29 

Anderson,  Dr.  A 137 

Anderson,  Dr.  E.  A 152 

Anderson,  Dr.  James 37 

Andronicus  II .  . 206 

Andronicus  III 207 

Arata,  Pedro  N 24 

Apicius,  Coelius 117 

Arnaud  (Chemist) 330 

Arrot  (Del.  Peruvian  Bark)     68 

Ash,  Dr.  (Fox  Glove) 128 

Avicenna  (See  Bibliography) 

26,  333,  334 

Ehe,  W 124 
Ion,  H 38,  111 
abridge  (Chemist) 14 

Baker,  Dr.  W.  F 129 


Page 

Balfour,  Dr.  J.  H 239 

Ball,  T 106 

Barbosa,  0 48,    142,    224 

Bartholow,      M.D.,      Prof. 

Roberts 95,  152,  186 

Barton,    M.D.,   Prof.   Benj. 

Smith.. 57,  60,  137,  146,  150, 

165,   184,  283,  321,  339,  3r 

354 

Barton,  Dr.  W.  P.  C.  .,  .,16 

Bastin,  Prof.  E.  S.  ...  352 

Bauhinus  (Bauhiu/,  vJasper, 

119,300 
Bauhinus    (Bauhin),     Job., 

121,  158,  290,  293,  300 
Beach,  Dr.  Wooster, 

.    61,  135,  145,  185,  352 

Benedictus,  Crispus 269 

Benjamin  of  Tudela 247 

Bennett,  Dr.  Alexander 93 

Benson,  Prof.  L.  W 355 

Bentham,  George 326 

Bentley,  Robert Ill,  115 

Beringer,  George  M . .  .  .331,  343 

Berry,  Dr.  Andrew 35,  37 

Berthelot,  M 196 

Betherand,  Dr 355 

Bigelow,  Jacob, 

60,  137,  146,  149,  283,  339.  351 
Birarslan  (Indian  Pilgrim),     45 

Blom,  Caroms  M 260 

Blondel,  R 326 

Bock,  Hieronymus 6 

Boerhaave,  Hermann 303 

Bohm,  Jacob 15 


425 


426 


INDEX  TO  PERSONAL  NAMES 


Page 

Boiveau     (French    Apothe- 
cary)      149 

Bojer,  W 37 

Bonpland,  Aime 28 

Borellus,  Peter 119 

Bosch,  H 125 

Brotero,  F.  A 168,  172 

Brown,  Walter  F 127 

Browne,  J.  Ross 184,  198 

Bruce,  James 123 

Brunfels,  Otto 297 

Buchan,  Dr.  William.  .  .242,  249 
Bundy,  Dr.  J.  H.  .  .31,  133,  264 
Burck,  Dr.  (Botanist,  see 

Coca) 91 

Burgos,  Dr.  (See  Heading) .  24 
Burroughs,  Wellcome  &  Co.  331 
Burton,  R.  F., 

5,  16,  39,  41,  44,  106,  122,  158, 

279 

Byron  (Lord) 274 

Camerarius,  Joachim 17 

Canfield,  Dr.  C.  A 159 

Canizares,  Lopez  de 69 

Cardano,  Girolamo 189 

Caspari,  Charles 175 

v    '-°rina  Cornaro  (Queen  of 

as) 30 

CaU~,.    '  >Jirk 294 

Catlin,  c       - 184 

Cato,     Marcus     Porcius, 

117,  158,  278 

Cawley,  Dr.  (See  Heading) .  128 
Celsus,  A.  C., 

31,  33,  158,  224,  268,  297 

Ceres  (Godess) 103 

Champagne,  Count  of 272 

Chapman,  N 137 

Charlard,  Boutron 262 

Charlemagne, 

14,  16,  17,  117,  138,  140,  183,  278 

Chilperic  II  (French  King), 

16,  139 

Chilton 145,149 

Chinchon,  Countess  of . . .  .68,  70 

Christison,  Dr.  Robert 238 

Churchillj  (Medical  Botany)  216 
Cieze  de  Leon,  Pedrode.  ...  288 
Claquenelle  (Apothecary  of 

Paris,  see  Ipecac) 170 

Clarke,  W.  (Explorer)....  184 
Clavijero,  Padre  Franc.  Jav.  201 
Clusius,  Carolus, 

5,  19,  28,  38,  85,  169,  245,  290, 

293,  342 
Clutterbuck,  Robert 130 


Page 

Coelius,  Apicius 117 

Cohausen,  J.  H 120 

Coimbra,  Don  Pedro 172 

Colbert,  Jean  Baptiste 170 

Condamine,  C.  M 63,  73 

Collin,  Eugene 19 

Collinson,  Peter 351 

Colon    (Apothecary   of   Ly- 
ons)      176 

Commelyn,  Caspar 119 

Commerspn,  Philbert 37 

Constantinus,  Africanus.122, 269 

Conti,  Nicolo 247 

Conwell 120 

Corey,  Dr.  WT.  M 303 

Cordus,  Valerius 15,  23 

Courtright,  Dr.  G.  S 152 

Coutinho,  Dr.  S 243 

Coville.  Frederick  V 35 

Cowley,  Abraham 101 

Coxe,  J.  R.  .147,    176,    179,   304 

Crawfurd,  George 143 

Crescenzio,  Pietro 322 

Cube,  Johann  von 334 

Cullen,  William 304 

Culpeper,  Nicolas 216,  281 

Cutler,  Rev.  Manasseh, 

165,  183,  261,  283,  314,  351 
Cytherae  (Surname  of 

Venus) 102 

Dahlberg,  Carol  Gust 260 

Dalhamah,  Al 106 

Dale,  Samuel.  .  .9,  119,  121,  180 

Daniell,  Dr.  W.  F 237 

Daries,  P.  J.  A 29 

Davis,  Dr.  N.  S 62 

Davis,  Dr.  John 355 

Darwin,  Robert  Waring.304,  341 
de  Candolle,  A.  P., 

37,  56,  157,  168,  179,  259,  324, 
326 

de  Chastetus,  M 1GO 

Dekker,  Fried 1701 

de  La  chaise,  Franc 171, 

de  Laet,  Jean 161,  291,  293! 

de  Orta,  Garcia.  . .  123,  285,  334 

deSalvy,  M 13-. 

Desfontaines,  R.  L 11' 

Desgranges,  J.  B 131\ 

deTudela,  Benj 217\ 

de  Tussac 114 

Diocletian    (Caius    Valerius 

Aurelius) 320  ' 

Dioscorides, 

1,  5.  6,  7,  14,  16,  20,  22,  23,  31, 
49,  83,  104,  130,  152,  153,  158, 


ir-DEX 


435 


Page 

Berries,  sumach 272 

Berries,  phytolacca 240 

Berries,  prickly-ash 354 

Berry,  partridge 144,  146 

Berry,  pungent 248 

Beta  vulgaris  var.  Rapa .  . .  278 

Betel  nut 143 

Betula  lenta 145,  147 

Bhang 40 

Bhanga 40 

Bible,  aloe  of 4 

Bibliography,  pages  357  to  424 

Bidara-laut 223 

Bikh 4 

Birch,  sweet 145 

Bish 4 

Bitter  almond 15 

Bitter  and  sweet  orange. ...  25 

Bitter  apple 105 

Black  anjudan 21 

Blackberry 276 

Blackberry  cordial 277 

'Blackberry  cordial  of  Ken- 

•u    tucky 52 

'•31ack  cohosh 54,  55 

icilacke  ambergreese 6 

£Uackhaw 353 

* j  lack  mechoacan 176 

^ilack  mustard 320 

-Black  pepper 123,  246 

•Black  root 180 

Black  snakeroot 54 

Bloodroot 282 

Blue  cohosh 55 

Blue  gum  leaves 134 

Blus  mass 273 

lBonduc  nut 118 

Boneset 137 

Book  of  Perfumes 274 

Borax,  honey  of 214 

.Border,  leek  of  the 109 

JBotrophis  Serpentaria. . .  .56,  58 

Bourbon  vanilla 347 

Bowman  root 180 

Brinton  root 180 

Broom 299 

BUCHU 32 

Buchu  leaves 32 

Buckthorn 140 

Buckthorn  berries 263 

Buckthorn,  syrup  of 264 

Bugbane 55 

Bugwort 55 

Burdock 179 

Burnt  aloes-wood 5 

Butua 235 


Page 

Cabueriba • 112 

Cadel  avanacu 119 

Csesalpiniaoe Ill 

Csesalpinia  Bonducella 118 

Calabash 114 

Calabar  bean 236 

CALAMUS 33,  218 

CALENDULA 34 

Calendula  officinalis 34 

California  manna 193 

Callicocca  Ipecacuanha.  168*   172 

CALUMBA 34 

Calumba  root 34 

Calumbe 36 

CAMBOGIA 38 

CAMPHORA 39 

Camphor 39 

Camphor  of  thyme 336 

Canaan  gum 1 

Canada  balsam 335 

Canadian  hemp 17 

Candied  cubebs 122 

Candy,  horehound 205 

Cane  sugar 199 

Canes,  honey  of 279 

Cannabis 40,  46 

Cannabis  Americana 40 

CANNABIS  INDICA.  .  .18,  40,  225 

Cannabis  sativa. 40 

Cantharides 47 

CANTHARI3 47 

Cantharis  vesicatoria 47 

Cape  aloes 4 

Cap-leaf 22 

Caps,  acorn 141 

CAPSICUM 48 

Capsicum  frutescens. ......     48 

Capsicum  and  myrrh,  tinc- 
ture      48 

Caraway 49 

Caraway,  Andalusian 50 

Caraway,  Persian 50 

Caraway  seed 49 

Cardamom 48,  225 

Cardamon,  round 245 

Cardamom  seeds 49 

CARDAMOMUM 48 

Carica 139 

Caricse 139 

Carolina  jessamine 150 

Cartagena  Ipecac 168 

Carui 50 

CARUM 49 

Carum  Carvi 49 

CARYOPHYLLUS 51 

Caacabark...  ..  240 


436 


INDEX 


Page 

Cascara  sagrada 134,  263 

Cascara  sagrada,  chemistry 

of 267 

Cassia 83,  220 

Cassia  acutifolia 318 

Cassia  angustifolia 318 

Cassiae  oleum 84 

CASSIA  FISTULA 52 

Cassia,  purging 52 

Cassine 292 

Cataputise  minores 119 

Catechu 142,  143 

Cathay  seeds 118 

Catholicons, 145 

Caulophyllum  thalictroides .  55 

Cayenne  pepper 48 

Ceari  jaborandi 243 

Celsus 31 

Century  plant 200 

Cephaelis  acuminata. 168 

Cephaelis  emetica 168 

Cephaelis  Ipecacuanha..  168,  172 

Ceylon  cinnamon 84 

Chamomile 17 

Chamomile,  German 213 

Chamomile,  Roman 17,  213 

Chamomile,  Spanish 259 

Chandana 286 

Chasmanthera  columba ....  38 

Cherry  bark,  wild  black 257 

Cherry,  wild 257 

CHIMAPHILA 52 

Chimaphila  umbellata 52 

China 67 

Chinanepide 67 

Chionanthus. 302 

CHIRATA 63 

Chiretta 53 

Chittimbark 266 

Chittim  wood 264 

Chondrodendron  tomento- 

sum 235 

CHONDRUS 53 

Chondnis  crispus 53 

Christophoriana  Canaden- 

sis  racemosa 55 

Chrysanthemum  Parthe- 

nium 213 

Chrysarobin 54 

CHRYSAROBINTTM 54 

Chrysophanic  acid 54 

Chukri 270 

Cicuta 109 

Cicuta  virosa 109 

CIMICIFUGA 54 

Cimicifuga  alata , 57 


Page 

Cimicifuga  americana 57 

Cimicifuga  f etida 57 

Cimicifuga  racemosa 54 

Cimicifuga  Serpentaria 54 

CINCHONA 62,  168,  185 

Cinchona  bark 62 

Cinchona  Calisaya 62 

Cinchona  lancifolia 62 

Cinchona  Ledgeriana. 62 

Cinchona  officinalis 62,  68 

Cinchona,  red 62 

Cinchona  succirubra 62 

Cinchona,  yellow 62 

Cinnamomum  Camphora. .  .     39 

ClNNAMOMCM  CASSIA 83 

Cinnamomum  saigonicum. .  84 

Cinnamomum  zeylanicum . .  84 
Cinnamon.... 52,    83,    225,270 

Cinnamon,  Ceylon 84 

Cinnamon,  oil  of 84 

Cinnamon,  Saigon 84 

Citric  acid 211 

CitrullusColocynthis.  ..105,  107 

Citrus  Limonum 181 

Claviceps  purpurea,  sclero- 

tium  of 130 

Cloves 218,  356 

Clutterbuck's  elaterium 130 

COCA 84,   102,  103 

Cocaine 84, 

Cocaine  hydrochloride ^84. 

Cocaine  hydrochlorate 08 

Cocculus  palmatus 37 

Coccus 103 

Coccus  cacti 103 

Cochineal 103 

Coffee,  Mocha 27 

Coffee-nut 112 

Cohosh,  black 54,  55 

Cohosh,  blue 55 

Cohosh,  red 55 

Cohosh,  white 55 

COLCHICT,  CORMUS  ET  SEMEN  104 

Colchicum 36 

Colchicum  autumnale 104 

Colchicum  perniciosum ....  104 

Colchicum  root  and  seed —  104 

Colocynth 1,  105 

Colocynth  apple 105 

Colocynth,  Turkish 107 

Colocynth  vine 105 

COLOCYNTHIS 105 

Colombian  bark 62 

Colombo  root 35 

Commiphora  Myrrha 219 

Common  broom 299 


INDEX 


437 


Pag* 
Compound  syrup  of  sarea- 

parilla 144 

Compound  tar  plaster 284 

Confectbuch. .  » 123 

Coniferse 200 

Conii  folia 108 

Conii  f ructus 108 

CONIUM 108 

Conium  leaves 108 

Conium  maculatum 108 

Conium  seeds 108 

Conserve  of  red  roses 77 

Convallamarin 110 

CONVALLARIA 109 

Convallaria  majalis 109 

Convallarin 110 

Convolvulus  Scammonia .  .  .  297 

Convulsivus  mah'gnus 131 

COPAIBA 110 

Copaiba,  balsam  of 111,  235 

Copaifera 112 

Copaifera  bijuga 116 

Copaifera  coriacea 116 

Copaifera  guianensis.  .  .  115,  116 

Copaifera  Jacquini 115 

Copaifera   Langsdorffii, 

110,  115,  116 

Copaifera  multijuga 116 

Copaifera  officinalis 110,  116 

Copau,  Huile  de 114 

Coquear 87 

Cordial,  blackberry 277 

Cordial,  blackberry,  of  Ken- 
tucky   52 

Coriander 50 

Coriander  seed 117 

CORIANDRUM 117 

Coriandrum  sativum 117 

CornacesB 301 

Corn  silk 355 

Cormus  et  semen  colchici. . .  104 

Coroutine,  Keller's 132 

Cortex  fructus 156 

Cotton  root  bark 155 

Cotton-wood 198 

Cottonwoods 200 

Couch  grass 338 

Cousso  OR  Cusso 123 

Cousso  tree 123 

Cramp  bark 352 

Cranberry,  high 352 

Cranesbill 153 

Cratsegus 207 

Creeper,  trumpet 154 

Croton  acutus 121 

Croton  jamalgota 121 


Croton  muricatus 121 

Croton  oil 117 

Croton  pavana 121 

Croton  seed 118 

CROTON  TIGLIUM 117,  130 

Cubeb 121 

CUBEBA 121 

Cubeb  berries 122 

Cubebs 121,  356 

Cubebs,  candied 122 

Cubebs,  powdered 122 

Cubebas  silvestres 122 

Cubera  tanghin 239 

Cuca 87 

Cucurbits  Pepo 236 

Cucumis  Colocynthis 107 

Cucurbitifera  malabariensis  222 

Culver's  root 180 

Cumich 49 

Cumin 50 

Cumin,  Armenian 50 

Cumin,  foreign 50 

Cumin,  mountain 50 

Cumin,  Roman 50 

Cupayba 112 

Curacao  aloes 4,    9,    11 

Currants 139 

Cusso  OR  Cousso 123 

Cutch 142,  143 

CYPRIPEDIUM 124 

Cypripedium  pubescens. .  . .    124 

Cyrene,  silphium  of 20 

Cytisus  Scoparius 299 

Dakha 42 

Dandelion. 334 

Daphne 301 

Daphne  Gnidium 216 

Daphne  Laureola 216 

Daphne  Mezereum 216 

Dates 6 

Date  palm,  Arabian 200 

Datura 43 

Datura  Stramonium 323 

Datura  Tatula 323 

Daun  Gatta  Gambir 143 

Deadly  nightshade 28 

Den  sleonis 334 

Delphinium  Staphisagria . .  .  321 

Dewberry 276 

DIGITALIS 124 

Digitalis  leaves 125 

Digitalis  purpurea 125 

Digitalis  seed 125 

Dill 50 

Dioscorides,    Materia   Med- 
icaof...  ..   109 


438 


INDEX 


Page 

Diosma,  (Buchu) 32 

Dispensatory,  American. ...      18 

Dispensatory,  Bengal 46 

Dispensatory,   Indian   Doc- 
tor's     181 

Distilled  hamamelis 162 

Divine  plant  of  the  Incas.  .     85 

Doctors,  Indian 124 

Dog  fennel 213 

Dogsbane 17 

Drugs  &  Medicines  of  North 

America.... 185 

Dryoptera  Filix  mas 23 

Dryoptera  marginalis 23 

Dyes   employed    by   Amer- 
ican Indians 164 

Ecballium  Elaterium 130 

Egyptian  gum 1 

Elaterin 130 

ELATERIUM 130 

Elaterium,  Clutterbuck's. . .    130 

Elder 200 

Electrical  febrifuge 151 

Ellettaria  Cardamomum ...     48 

Elm  bark 338 

Emetic  weed 184 

English  euonymin  craze. . .  .    135 

Ephemeris 96,    99,    109 

Epimenidea 298 

Ergot 130 

ERGOTA 130 

Ergot,  assay  of 131 

Ergotism 130 

ERIODICTYON.  .........  132,  134 

Eriodictyon  Calif ornicum. . .  132 
Eriodictyon  glutinosum.132,  133 
Erythrophlceum  guineense 

239,  329 

Erythroxyline 90 

Erythroxylon  Bolivianum. . .     91 

Erythroxylon  Coca 84 

Erythroxylon  Spruceanum. .     91 

Esere 237 

Eserine 237 

Esquine 291 

EUCALYPTUS 134 

Eucalyptus  globulus 134 

Eugenia  aromatica_ 51 

Euonymin .T 136 

Euonymin  craze,  The  Eng- 
lish     135 

EUONYMUS 135 

Euonymus  americanus 135 

Euonymus  atropurpureus. . .   135 

EUPATORIUM 137 

Eupatorium  perfoliatvun —   137 


Page 

Exogonium  Purga 176 

Extracts  of  malt. . 192 

False  manna,  American. . . .  195 

Febrifuge,  electrical 151 

Fennel 50,  140 

Fennel,  dog 213 

Fennel  seed 140 

Fennel  wood 292 

Fern,  male 23 

Ferric  oxide,  hydrated 284 

Ferula 19 

Ferula  alliacea 21 

Ferula  Asaf oetida 19 

Ferula  foetida 19 

Ferula  Sumbul 332 

Ficus 138 

Ficus  Carica 138 

Fig 138 

Fig  tree 112 

Filix  mas 23 

Filloea  suaveolens 240 

Fingerhut 126 

Flag,  sweet 33 

Flax  seed 183 

Flies,  Spanish 47 

Flora  Brasiliensis 168 

Flora  Malabarica 119 

Flora,  niger 38 

Flowers,  althzea 14 

Flowers,  arnica 18 

Flowers,  orange 25 

Flores  benzoes 30 

FOENICULUM 140 

Foeniculum  vulgare 140 

Food  products  of  N.  A.  In- 
dians   202 

Foreign  cumin 50 

Foxes-glew 125 

Foxglove 125 

FRANGULA 140,  263 

Frankincense,  Java 30 

Fraxinus  Ornus 193 

Fructus  carpesiorum  vel  cu- 

bebarum 123 

Funis  uncatus 143 

Furiale  solatrum 28 

Galangal 122,  356 

Galen 31 

GALLA 141 

Galls 142 

Galls,  oak 141 

Gambier 142,  143 

GAMBIH 142 

Gambir,  Daun  Gatta 143 

Gambir,  gatta 143 

Gamboge 38 


INDEX 


439 


Page 
GAMBOGIA  OR  CAMBOQIA.  .  .  38 

Ganapride 67 

Ganda .-. 280 

Garcinia  Hanburii 38 

Garget  plant 240 

Garlick 50 

Gatta 144 

Gatta  gambir 143 

GAULTHERIA 144,  145 

Gaultheria  hispidula.  .  .  145,  147 

Gaultheria,  oil 144 

Gaultheria  procumbens ....  146 
Gaultheria  procumbeas,  oil 

of..... 145 

Gaultheria  repens 145 

Gayapala 118 

GELSEMIUM 150 

Gelsemium  sempervirens . . .  150 

Gelsomina 150 

Genista 299 

Gentian 152 

GENTIANA 152 

Gentiana  lutea 152 

GERANIUM 153 

Geranium  maculatum 153 

German  chamomile 213 

Gibelmanna. 192 

Gigartina  mamillosa 53 

Ginger 118,  355 

Gingerbread 122 

Gleditschia  triacanthos 112 

Glew,  foxes' 125 

Glyceria 197 

GLYCYRRHIZA 153 

Glycyrrhiza  glabra  glandu- 

lifera 153 

Glycyrrhiza  glabra  typica.  .  153 

Glycyrrhiza  rhizome 153 

Glycyrrhiza  root 153 

Goa  powder 54 

Golden  seal 164 

Gombe 327 

Gordon  Memorial  College.  3 

GOSSYPII  CORTEX 155 

Gossypii  radicis  cortex. ...  155 

Gossypium 155 

Gossypium,  fiber 155 

Gourd 105 

Grains  of  paradise 122,  154 

Grana  tiglii 119 

Granati  cortex 156 

GRANATUM 156 

Grape,  sugar  of 194 

Grass,  bent '.  202 

Grass,  couch 338 

Grass,  manna 197 


Grass,  reed 197 

Grasses,  reed 203 

GRINDELIA 158 

Grindelia  camporum 158 

Grindelia  cuneifolia 158 

Grindelia  robust  a 158 

Grindelia  squarrosa 158 

Griselinia 301 

Ground  raspberry 164 

Guaiac 159 

GUAIACUM 159 

Guaiacum  ofncinalia 160 

Guaiacum,  resin  of 160 

Guaiacum  sanctum 160 

Guananepide 67 

GUARANA ; 160 

Guaranis. 160 

Guatemala,  balsam  of 27 

Guayacan 159 

Guda 280 

Guda-daru 280 

Guda-sarkara 280 

Guda-trina 280 

Gum  arable 1 

Gum  Benjamin 30 

Gum,  Egyptian 1 

Gum    mastic,    village    pro- 
ducing    206 

Gum  of  Canaan 1 

Gum  tragacanth 337 

Gymnocladus  dioica 112 

Hab-el-Kathai 118 

HAEMATOXYLON 16 

Hagenia 123 

Hagenia  abyssinica 123 

Halecus  verus 121 

HAMAMELIDIS    CORTEX     ET 

FOLIA 162 

Hamamelis,  distilled 162 

Hamamelis  leaves 162 

Hamamelis  virginiana 162 

Hamamelis  water 162 

Hartshorn 264 

Hashish 41,   43,   47 

Hasia 182 

HEDEOMA 162 

Hedeoma  pulegioides 162 

Hellebore,  American 350 

Hellebore,  swamp 350 

Hellebore,  white 350 

Hematoxylon  campechianum  161 

Hemlock 108 

Hemlock,  poison 109 

Hemp,  Canadian 17 

Hemp,  Indian 17,  40 

Hemp  leaf 46 


440 


INDEX 


Page 

Henbane 43,  166 

Henna 50 

Herb,  mad-dog 301 

Herb,  soldier's 167,  212 

Herbarium  Amboinense.  119,  143 

Herb,  holy 133 

Herb,  saint 133 

High  cranberry 352 

Hiltit 21 

Hindu  physicians 118 

King 21 

Hingra 22 

Hingu 19,  21 

Hini 180 

Historia  Naturalis  Brasilia  169 

Holy  herb 133 

Hondura  sarsaparilla 288 

Honey 16,  213 

Honey  locust 112 

Honey  of  canea 279 

Honey-suckle 282 

Hops 163 

Hops,  Bavarian 163 

Hordeum  distichon 191 

Hordeum  sativum 191 

Horehound 205 

Horehound  candy 205 

Horse  aloes 8 

Hovia 103 

Huanuco 91 

Huile  de  copau 114 

HUMULTJS 163 

Humulus  Lupulus 163 

HYDBASTIS 164 

Hydrastis  canadensis 164 

Hydrastis,  white  alkaloid  of  166 

Hy drops  pectoris 128 

HYOSCYAMUS,  166,  212,  324,  328 

Hyoscyamus  niger 166 

Ikshu 280 

Ikshurasa 280 

Ikshurassa:kvatha 280 

Incas,  Divine  plant  of 85 

Index  Kewensis, 

111,   116,   117,   121,    168,  326 

India  senna 318 

Indian  Captivities,  Guile's .  .   335 

Indian  doctors 124 

Indian   Doctor's   Dispensa- 
tory    181 

Indian  hemp 17,  40 

Indian  hemp,  American ....     17 

Indian  poke 350 

Indian  rheum 269 

tobacco 183 


Page 

Indigenous  Vegetables,  Ac- 
count of 184 

Indrasana 40 

Indra's  hemp 40 

lonidum  Ipecacuanha 171 

Ipecac 168,  243 

Ipecacoanha,  white 173 

Ipecac,  Rio 168 

Ipecac     root,     alkaloidal 

value  of 175 

IPESACUANHA 168 

Ipecacuanha  ejusque  facul- 

tatibus,  de 169 

Ipecaya 169 

Irish  moss 53 

Island  of  Socotra 4 

Itch-weed 350 

Jaborandi 243 

Jaborandi  leaves,  alkaloidal 

value  of 245 

Jaborandi,  Maranham 243 

Jalap 176,  193 

JALAPA 176 

Jalap,  white 176 

Jamalgoota 118 

Jamaica  quassia 259 

Jamaica  pepper 245 

Jamaica  sarsaparilla 288 

Jamestown  weed 323 

Janjida 40 

Jasmine,  wild,  (mad  honey 

of) 214 

Jasmine,  yellow 150 

Jateorrhiza 34 

Jateorhiza  palmata 34 

Jatu 21 

Jatuka 21 

Java  frankincense 30 

Jessamine 150 

Jessamine,  Carolina 150 

Jessamine,  white 150 

Jesuits'  bark 68 

Jesuits'  powder 77 

Jimson  weed 323 

Juice,  lemon 181 

Juniper 278 

Juniperus  Sabina 278 

Kaaba 1 

Kakkola 248 

Kalumb 35 

Kano ..  177 

Karanfal 51 

Karawya, 49 

Karerna 223 

Karigas 139 

Karoa....                               .  49 


INDEX 


441 


Page 

Kath  karanja  seeds 118 

Kayf 41,  44 

Kewensis,  Index. 

Ill,  116,  117, 121, 168,  244, 326 

Keller's  Coroutine 132 

Khanda 280 

Khanda  sarkara 280 

Khartoum 2 

Kilista 208 

Kina 67 

King's  resin  of  podophyllum  136 

KINO 177 

Kombe 327 

Kousso 123 

KRAMERIA. 177,  178 

Krameria  Ixina 179 

Krameria  triandra 178 

Kucha-phala 223 

Kuchela 223 

Kuchila 223 

Kulaka 223 

Kunchaphala 223 

Kupilu 223 

Kurachilla 223 

Kurkas  Tiglium 121 

Kuruchilla 223 

Lactuca 179 

LACTUCARIUM 179 

Lady's  slipper 124 

Laffecteur,  Rob  de 149 

LAPPA 179 

Lappa  major 179 

Lappa  minor 179 

Lappa  tomentosa 179 

Lard 284 

Laser 19 

Laserpitium 21 

Laurus  Sassafras 294 

Laurus  variifolia 294 

Lavanga 51 


Lawsonia  alba . 

Leaf,  hemp 


belladonna 28 

blue  gum 134 


buchu . 

conium .  . 

digitalis. . 

gaultheria 144 


32 
108 
125 


Leaves 
Leaves 
Leaves 
Leaves 
Leaves 
Leaves  „ 

Leaves  hamamelis 162 

Leech  books "278 

Leek  of  the  border 109 

Leguminosse 37,  111 

Leimonion  lemone 182 

Lemon  juice 181 

Lemon  peel 181 

Lenitive  electuary 257 


Page 

Leopard's  bane 18 

LEPTANDRA 180 

Leptandra  virginica 181 

Lettuce  opium 179 

Lewis,  secret  cure  of 313 

Licorice 153 

Licorice  pastilles 154 

Licorice  root 153 

Licorice,  Russian 153 

Licorice,  Spanish 153 

Ligna  aloes 5 

Lignaloes 4 

Lignum  moluccense 119 

Lignum  panavse 119 

Lignum  quassise 260 

Lignum  tinctile  campech- 

.ense... 161 

Lignum  vitse 159 

Lily  of  the  valley 109 

Limbu 181 

Lime 144 

LIMONIS,  CORTEX  ET  Succus  181 

Limu 181 

Limun 181 

Link 300 

Linnaean  Society 131 

Linseed 183 

LINUM 183 

Linum  seed 183 

Linum  usitatissimum 183 

Lippincott's  Biographical 

Dictionary 76 

Liquidambar  orientale 331 

Liquidambar  orient  a!  is 331 

Liquorice  root 153 

Liquors,  malt 192 

Lloyd  Library 251 

LOBELIA 183 

Lobelia  inflata 183 

Lobelia  syphilitica 184 

Logwood 161 

Lombards 139 

Loxa  bark 62 

LYCOPODIUM 191 

Lycopodium  clavatum 191 

Lycopodium  powder 191 

Mace .....122,  218,  225 

Macis,  description 218 

Macrotys 54.  55 

Macrotys  actseoidcs. 56 

Macrotys  Serpentaria 56 

Mad-dog  herb 301 

Mad  honey 214 

Magican 142 

Mahonia 31 

Male  fern 23 


442 


INDEX 


Page 

Malignus  convulsivus 131 

Malt 191 

Malt,  extracts  of 192 

Malt  liquors 192 

MALTUM 191 

Mandrake 248 

MANNA....  192,    194,   298,    321 

MANNA,  AMERICAN 193 

Manna  ash 192 

Manna,  Californian 193 

Manna,  Father  Picolo's 203 

Manna,  where  found 201 

Manna  grass. 197 

Manna,  mountain 192 

Manna  of  the  pines 203 

Maple,  white 197 

Maranham  juborandi 243 

Maricha 248 

Marigold 34 

MARRUBITJM 205 

Marrubium  vulgare 205 

Marshmallow  root 14 

Massa  hydrargyrum 273 

Mastic 205 

Mastic  drink 210 

Mastic  gum 206 

Mastic  of  Scios 206 

Mastikohoria 206 

Mastich  tears 26,  207 

MASTICHE 205 

Mastiche,  confections  of ....   211 

Mastiche,  collection  of 207 

Mastiche,    commercial    fea- 
tures    209 

Mastiche,  description 207 

Materia  Medica  of  Dioscor- 

ides 109 

MATICO 167,  212 

Matoyandika 280 

MATRICARIA 213 

Matricaria  Chamomilla . . . .   213 

Mauritius  vanilla 347 

Mayapple 248 

Mazamora 88 

Mechoacan,  black 176 

Mechoacan  rhubarb 176 

Medals,  Carthaginian 157 

Medals,  Phenician 157 

Meddygon  Myddfai, 

2L2,  299,  320 

Medical  Brief 277 

Medical  Repository 131 

Medicine  bark 66 

MEL..... 213 

Memorial  College,  Gordon. .       3 
Menispermum  canadensis.  .     34 


Page 

Menispermum  palmatum. . .  37 

Mentha  palustris 215 

MENTHA  PIPERITA 215 

Mentha  spicata 215 

MENTHA  VIRIDIS 215 

Methyl  salicylate 144 

Mexican  sarsaparilla 288 

Mexican  vanilla 347 

MEZEREUM 216 

Minores,  cataputiae 119 

Mint  julep 215 

Mint,  (peppermint) 215 

Mirach 248 

Mirchai 248 

Mitchells 168 

Mocha  coffee 27 

Moaniat 259 

Morbus  spasmodicus 131 

Morphine,  white 234 

MOSCHUS 217 

Moschus  moschiferus 217 

Moss,  Irish 53 

Mountain  balm 133 

Mountain  cumin 50 

Mountain  manna 192 

Muscus  clavatus 191 

Muscus  terrestris 191 

Musk 5,  217 

Muskroot 332 

Mustard,  black 320 

Mustard,  white 319 

Myddfai,  Physicians  of . .  .3,  212 

MYRISTICA 218 

Myristica  fragrans 218 

Myroxylon 26 

Myroxylon  Toluiferum 27 

Myrrh 84,  219,  270 

MYRRHA 219 

Nadd 5 

New  Preparations, 

133,    159,    182,    264,  277 

N.  Jahrbuch  f.  Pharm 110 

Nights,  Arabian, 

5,  15,  39,  47,  106,  138,  157,  167, 

214 

Nightshade,  deadly 28 

Nimbu 182 

Nimbuka ..  182 

Nine  barks...                      ..  135 

Nisbu 182 

North    America,    Drugs    & 

Medicines  of 185 

North     American      Indian 

food 202 

Nut,  betel 143 

Nut,  bonduc 118 


INDEX 


Page 

Nut,  coffee 112 

Nutgall 141 

Nutgalls , 142,  337 

Nutmeg 218,  225 

Nux  metella 222 

Nux  VOMICA 169,  221 

Oaks ". 200 

Oak  galls 141 

Oak,  white 261 

Oil,  almond 16 

Oil,  aniseed 210 

Oil,  cinnamon 84 

Oil,  croton 117 

Oil,  gaultheria 144 

Oil,  gaultheria    procumbens  145 

Oil,  origanum 336 

Oil,  pennyroyal 163 

Oil,  pimenta 245 

Oil,  saw  palmetto 277 

Oil,  sweet  birch 145 

Oil,  thyme 336 

Oil,  tilli. . . . 120 

Oleum  cassise 84 

Oleum    terebinthinse    recti- 

ficatum 336 

Oleum  tiglii 117 

Olives 139 

Opium,  crop 226 

Opium  gum,  inspecting.  .  .  .  232 
Opium  implements  for  gath- 
ering gum 228 

Opium  poppy,  cultivation. . .  226 

Opium  poppy,  gum 229 

Opium  poppy,   mad   honey 

from 214 

OPIUM 42,  224,  270 

Opium,  lettuce 179 

Opium,  origin  of 225 

Opium  poppy 225 

Opium,  adulterations 231 

Opium,  assaying 233 

Opium,  characteristics 231 

Opium-packing  for  export .  .  234 

Orange  flowers 25 

Orange  peel 25 

Ordeal  bean 236 

Ordeal,  red  water 239 

Origanum 147 

Origanum,  oil  of 336 

Ouabaio 329 

Ourouparia  gambir 142 

Paci 103 

Pale  rose 272 

Palms 200 

Palm-wine 220 

Panacea  of  Swaim 144 


443 


145 


Panaceas. 

Panela 

Panoche 200 

Papaver  somniferum. .  .224,  226 

Paradise,  grains  of 122,  154 

Paraguay  jaborandi 243 

PABEIRA 235 

Pareira  brava. 235 

Parilla,  yellow 34 

Parsley 50 

Parthenium 259 

Partridge  berry 144,  146 

Pastilles,  licorice 154 

Paulli,  Simon 160 

Paullinia  Cupana 160 

Paullinia  sorbilis 160 

Pavame. 290 

Pavanse  lignum 119 

Peachwood 161 

Peel,  lemon 181 

Peel ,  orange 25 

Pellitory  root 259 

Pernambuco  jaborandi 243 

Pen-king 267 

Pennyroyal 162 

Pennyroyal,  American 162 

Pennyroyal,  oil  of 163 

PEPO 236 

Pepper 246,  356 

Pepper,  black 123,  246 

Pepper,  cayenne 48 

^-Peppermint 147,  215 

Pepper-plant 247 

Pepper,  white 123 

Perfumes.  Book  of 274 

Pernambuco  jaborandi 243 

Persian  caraway 50 

Peru,  balsam  of 26,  114 

Peru  balsam  tree 112 

Peruvian  bark 19,  62,  258 

Phanita 280 

Pharmacist,  The 133 

Pharmacologia 119 

Pharmacopeia  Amsteloda- 

mensis 113 

Pharmacopeia,  Mass.  Med. 

Society 146 

Pharmacopeia      of      India, 

Waring's 46 

Pharmacopeias  (See  Biblio- 
graphical Index) 
Pharmacographia  (See  Bib- 
liographical Index) 

Phaseoleae 237 

Phragmites  communis.  .197,  202 

Physic  root 180 


444 


INDEX 


Page 

Physicians,  Arabian 1 

Physicians,  Hindu 118 

Physicians  of  Myddvai 3 

Physicians,  Welsh 264 

PHYSOSTIGMA 236 

Phys&6tigma 

cylindrosperma 237 

Physostigma  mesoponticum  237 

Physostigma  venenosum. . .  .  236 

PHTTOLACCA 240,  249 

Phytolacca  berries 240 

Phytolacca  decandra. 240 

Phytolacca,   properties  and 

uses 241 

Phytolacca  root 240 

Picrasma  excelsa 259 

Picraena  excelsa 261 

Pigaya 169 

Pilea  pumila 55 

Pills  of  poppy  juice 224 

PILOCARPUS 243 

Pilocarpus  giganteus 244 

Pilocarpus  goudutianus ....  244 

Pilocarpus  grandiflorus 244 

Pilocarpus  guaianensis 244 

Pilocarpus  heterophyllus.  ..  244 

Pilocarpus  humboldtii 244 

Pilocarpus  Jaborandi..  .243,  244 

Pilocarpus  latifolius 244 

Pilocarpus   leaves   of   com- 
merce   244 

Pilocarpus  longiracemosus. .  244 

Pilocarpua  macrocarpus. . . .  244 
Pilocarpus    microphyllus, 

243,  244 

Pilocarpus  pauciflorus 244 

Pilocarpus    pennatifolius, 

243,  244 

Pilocarpus  racemosus 244 

Pilocarpus  riedelianus 244 

Pilocarpus  selloanus 244 

Pilocarpus  spicatus 244 

Pilocarpus  subcoriaceus. . . .  244 

Pilocarpus  trachylophus. . .  .  244 

PIMENTA 245 

Pimenta  berries 245 

Pimenta  officinalis 245 

Pimenta,  oil  of 245 

Pimento 245 

Pimpinella  Anisum 16 

Pinang 143,  144 

Pine  sugar 196 

Pini  nuclei  moluccani 119 

Finite 196 

Pinkroot 321 

Pinus  australis. . .               . .  336 


Page 

Pinus  Lambertiana 196 

Pinus  palustris 336 

Pinus  ponderosa 196 

Pinus  strobus 196 

Pipe  gamboge 38 

PIPER 246 

Piper  angustifolium 212 

Piper  Betle 144 

Piper  Cubeba 121 

Piper  Jamaicense 245 

Piper    jamaicense    sive    pi- 

menta 245 

Piper  nigrum 246 

Pippali 247 

Pipsissewa 52 

Pistacia  Lentiscus 205 

Pitachandana 286 

Plantain 282 

Plautus,  Rudens  of 20 

Poayeros 174 

Poems,  Seven  Hanged 1 

Podophyllin 250 

PODOPHYLLUM.  ..248,    249,  284 

Podophyllum  peltatum.248,  250 

Podophyllum,  resin  of 250 

Poisons,  (arrow),  notes  on.  .  328 

Poison  hemlock 109 

Poison  ivy 271 

Poison  oak 271 

Poison-vine,  white 150 

Poke,  Indian 350 

Poke  root 240 

Polygala  paucif olia 145 

Poma  cathartica 119 

Pomegranate 156,  248 

Pomegranate  bark 156 

Pomegranate  rind 156 

Pomegranate  seed 158 

Pontic  rheum 269 

Poppy  heads,  wine  of 224 

Poppy  juice,  pills 224 

Potassium  carbonate 210 

Powdered  cubebs 122 

Powder,  goa 54 

Powder,  Jesuits'. 77 

Powder,  lycopodium 191 

Precious  spice 83 

Preservative,  tooth 178 

Prickly  ash 354 

Proverbs 83 

Prune 257 

PRUNTJM 257 

Prunus  Amygdalus 15 

Prunus  domestica 257 

Prunus  serotina 257 

PHUNUS  VIRGINIANA 257 


Psalms  (cinnamon) 

Psycho tria  emetica 

Psychotria  Ipocacuanha. . .  . 

Pterocarpus  indicus 

Pterocarpus  Marsupium. . .  . 

Pterocarpus  santalinus 

Pulvis  parturiens 

Pumpkin  seed 

Pungent  berry 

Punica  Granatum 

Puntsao 

Purgative  tuber 

Purging  apple 

Purging  cassia 

Pursh's     Flora    Americana? 

Septentrionalis 

PYRETHRUM 

Pyrola  umbellata 

Quananegine 

Quasci 


Quassia,  Jamaica 

Quassia,  Surinam 

Quassiae  lignum 

Quebracho 

Quebracho  bianco 

ebracho  Colorado 24 

aebracho  gum 

jebracho  moreno 

sbracho  negro 

icbracho  prieto 

lebracho  resin 

leen's  root 

JUEROUS 

aercus  alba 

lercus  infectoria 

Quillaia 

QUILLAJA 

Quillaja  Saponaria 

Quilloan,  (wash) 

Quitel 

Quin-quinia 

Quina-quina 

Quinaquinia 

Quinia. 

Quinia-quinia 

Quinine 

Quinquinia 

Radix  pontica 

Radix  rha  barbari 

Raisins 122, 

Rakee,  mastic 

Raki,  mastic 

Raspberry 

Raspberry,  ground 


INDEX  445 

Page  Page 

83      Rattle  root 55 

172       Rattlesnake  root 55 

168       Rattle  weed 55 

177       Rawand-el-dawabb 271 

177       Red  cinchona 62 

285       Red  cohosh 55 

131       Red  rose 272 

236       Red  sandalwood 285 

248       Red  saunders 285 

156       Redwater  ordeal 239,  329 

234       Reed  grass 197 

176       Reed  grasses 203 

119       Reeds 195 

52       Remijia 62 

Reobarbe 270 

138  Resin  of  guaiacum 160 

259  Resin  of  podophyllum,  dis- 

146  covery 250 

67  Resin  of  podophyllum, 

261  King's 136 

259       RESINA    PODOPHYLLI 250 

259  Resina     podophylli     (Com- 

259  mercial  Introduction) 251 

259  Resina  podophylli  (name)..  .  251 

260  Reu  barbarum 269 

24  Revelation 83 

25  Rewand 270 

,  25      Rewash 270 

24  Rewash-i-dewana 270 

25  Rhacoma 268 

25       Rhamnus  californica 264 

25       Rhamnus  catharticus 263 

24       Rhamnus  Frangula 140 

322  RHAMNUS  PURSHIANA, 

261  134,    140,    141,    263 

261  Rha  ponticum 268 

141       Rhatany 178 

263       RHEUM 267,  268 

262  Rheum  barbarum 269 

262       Rheum,  Indian 269 

262       Rheum  officinale 267 

180       Rheum  palmatum 267 

67       Rheum,  pontic 269 

67       Rheum  Ribes 270 

67       Rheum  tanguticum 267 

67       Rheum  tataricum 270 

66  Rhubarb 267,  269 

62       Rhubarbs 271 

67  Rhubarb,  Chinese 270 

268       Rhubarb,  fool's 270 

270  X  Rhubarb,  Khorasan 270 

139  RHUS  GLABRA 271 

210       Rhus  glabrum 271 

210       Rhus  Lentiana. 201 

276  Rhus  Toxicodendron. .  .  159,  271 

164       Rhus  veatchiana 200 


\ 


446 


INDEX 


Page 

Ribarbari 269 

Ribas 270 

Rice,  yellow 158,  215 

Richweed 55 

Ricinus  communis 121 

Rind,  pomegranate 156 

Rio  ipecac.. 168 

Rio  Janeiro  jaborandi 243 

Riwas 270 

Roa 158 

Roaside. 158 

Rob    anti-syphilitica,    sirup 

of 144 

Rob  de  Laffecteur 149 

Roman  chomomile 17,  213 

Roman  cumin 50 

Root,  arnica 18 

Root  bark  of  sassafras 289 

Root,  belladonna 28 

Root,  black 180 

Root,  Bowman 180 

Root,  Brinton 180 

Root,  calumba 34 

Root,  colchicum 104 

Root,  Colombo 35 

Root,  Culver's 180 

Root,  glycyrrhiza 153 

Root,  licorice 153 

Root,  marsh  mallow 14 

Root,  musk 332 

Root,  pellitory 259 

Root,  physic 180 

Root,  phytolacca 240 

Root,  pink 321 

Root,  poke 240 

Root,  queen's 322 

Root,  rattle 55 

Root,  rattlesnake 55 

Root,  sarsaparilla 288 

Root,  yellow 164 

Rosa  centif olia 272 

ROSA  GALLICA 272 

Roseaux 194 

Rose,  honey  of 214 

Rosemary 282 

Rose,  pale 272 

Rose,  red 272 

Rose  water 273 

Rose,  white 273 

Roses,  attar  of 272 

Roses,  garden  of 275 

Roses,  red,  conserve  of 77 

Round  cardamon 245 

Rubiacese 168 

Rubus  Idseus 276 

Rubua  trivialis. . . .  ..  276 


Page 

RUBUS  VILLOSUS 276 

Rudens  of  Plautus.r 20 

Ruibardo 269 

Russian  licorice 153 

Rusot 32 

Rutacese 243 

Rye,  spurred 130 

SABAL 277 

Sabal  serrulata 277 

Sabdakalpadruma 182 

SABINA 278 

Sabine 278 

Saccharine 198 

Saccharon 279 

SACCHARUM 278,  280 

Saccharum  officinarum 278 

Sacred  bark 266 

Saffron 122,  215,  270 

Sage.... 280,  281 

Saigon  cinnamon 84 

Saint  herb 133 

Saladinus  of  Ascoli 28 

Salicylate,  methyl 144 

Salvadora  persica 320 

Salve  bark 338 

SALVIA 280 

Salvia  officinalis 280 

Sandal,  white 236 

Sandal,  yellow 286 

Sandalwood  paste 286 

Sandalwood,  red 285 

SANGUINABIA 164,  249,  282 

Sanguinaria  canadensis 282 

Sanguinarine  nitrate 283 

Sanguis  Draconis 6 

SANTALUM  BUBBUM 285 

SANTONICA 287 

Santonin 287 

Santoninum 

Sanskrit, 

4,  19,  29,  51,  117,  181,  247,  287, 

333 

Sanskrit  (sugar) 280 

SABSAPARILLA 288 

Sarsaparilla,  Hondura 288 

Sarsaparilla,  Jamaica 288 

Sarsaparilla,  Mexican 288 

Sarsaparilla,  root 288 

Sarsaparilla,  syrup  of 145 

Sarsaparilla    compound 

syrup 144,  217 

SASSAFRAS 289 

Sassafras  officinale 294 

Sassafras,  root  bark  of 289 

Sassafras  Sassafras 294 

Sassafras  variifolium.  .  .289,  295 


INDEX 


447 


Page 

Page 

Sassafrine  296 

Seven  barks  

135 

Sassy  bark  240 

Seven  Hanged  Poems  

1 

Savin  278 

Seychelles  vanilla  

347 

Saw  palmetto  277 

Shore,  leek  of  the  , 

109 

Saw  palmetto  berry  277 

Sidhu  

?80 

Saw  palmetto  oil  277 

Silphium  

20 

SCAMMONIUM  297 
Scammony  270 

Silphium  of  Cyrene  

SlNAPIS  ALBA  

20 
319 

Scammony  plant  27 
Schools  of  Salerno  1 

Sinapis  nigra  
Sirup    of    Rob    anti-syphi- 

320 

SCILLA  298 

litlca  

144 

Scios,  mastic  of  206 

Skordolasaron  

•>o 

Sclerotium  of  Claviceps  pur- 

Skullcap  

301 

purea  130 

Skunk  cabbage  

351 

SCOPARIUS  299 

Slippery  elm  

S38 

SCOPOLA  299,  301 

Small  jaborandi  

?43 

Scopola  carniolica  299,  300 

Smilax  medica  

?!88 

Scopola,    sophisticant    of 

Smilax  officinalis  

?8« 

belladonna  301 

Smilax  ornata  

fl88 

Scopola  trichotoma  300 

Snakeroot,  black  

54 

Scopolamine    hydrobromide  299 
Scopolia  atropoides  300 
Scopolia  carniolica  300 

Snakeroot,  Texas  
Snakeroot,  Virginia  
Soap  bark  

319 
319 

?,fi?. 

Scopolina  atropoides  300 

Society,  Linnsean  

131 

SCUTELLARIA  301 

Socotra,  island  of  

4 

Scutellaria  in  hydrophobia, 

Socotrine  aloes  

4    5 

303,  315 

Soda-water  

?63 

Scutellaria  lateriflora  301 

Solanum  

?9 

Secale  130 

Solanum  Dulcamara  

30 

Secale  cereale  130 

Solanum  manicum  

800 

Secale  cornutum  130 

Solanum  nigra  

30 

Secret  cure,  Lewis's  313 

Solanum  somnif  erum  

29 

Seeds,  caraway  49 

Solanum    somniferum    alte- 

Seeds,  cardamom  49 

rum  

300 

Seeds,  Cathay  118 

Solanum  somniferum  bacci- 

Seeds,  colchicum  104 

ferum  

300 

Seeds,  conium  •.  108 

Solatrum  f  uriale  

?8 

Seeds,  coriander  117 

Soldier's  herb  

167 

Seeds,  croton  118 

Soldier's  tree  167, 

212 

Seeds,  digitalis  125 

Solomon's  temple  

157 

Seeds,  fennel  140 

Sorghum  

280 

Seeds,  kathkaranja  118 

South  American  vanilla.  .  .  . 

347 

Seeds,  linum  183 

Spanish  chamomile  

259 

Seeds,  pumpkin  236 

Spanish  flies  

47 

Seeds,  sesame  16 

Spanish  licorice  

153 

Seeds,  stramonium  ........   325 

Spearmint  

215 

Semen  colchici  104 

Spere  mynte  

216 

Semper  vivum,  (aloe)  6 

Spice,  precious  

83 

Senapium  320 

SPIGELIA  168, 

««1 

SENEGA  or  SENECA  317 

Spigelia  marilandica  

321 

SENNA  193,  318,  321 

Spirsea  lobata  145, 

147 

Senna,  India  318 

Spiraea  Ulmaria  145, 

147 

Senna,  Tinnevelly  318 

Spurred  rye  

130 

Serenoa  serrulata  277 

Squawroot  

55 

SERPENTARIA  319 

Squill  

29K 

Sesame  seed  16 

Srikhanda  

286 

\ 


448 


INDEX 


Page  Page 

Stacte,  myrrh 220  Tanghinin  venenata 239 

STAPHISAGRIA 321  TARAXACUM 334 

Stavesacre 321  Taraxacum  officinale 334 

Stigmata  maydis 355  Tar  plaster,  compound .  248,  284 

STILLINGIA 322  Temple,  Solomon's 157 

Stillingia  sylvatica 322  TEREBINTHINA 335 

Stink-finger 22  Terra  Japonica 143 

Storax 331  Texas  snakeroot 319 

Strabo 20  The  Pharmacist 133 

STRAMONIUM 29,  323  Thoroughwort 137 

Stramonium  (Atropine  Thyme,  camphor  of 336 

from) 324  Thymelacese 301 

Stramonium  seed 325  Thyme,  oil  of 336 

Strasburg  turpentine 335  THYMOL 336 

STROPHANTHUS 326  Thymus  vulgaris 336 

Strophanthus  hispidus. . 326,  327  Tiglii,  oleum.. . 117 

Strophanthus  Kombe,  Tiglium  officinalis 121 

326,  327,  328  Tilli,  oil  of 120 

Strophanthus,  pharmaco-  Tincture,  capsicum  and  i 

peial  record  of 330  myrrh 48 

Strychnos 329  Tinnevelly  senna '. 318 

Strychnos  Nux  vomica 221  Tintidi 334 

STYRAX 331  Tlilxochitl 342 

Styrax  Benzoin 30  Tobacco  antidote 152 

Styrax  officinale 331  Tobacco,  Indian 183 

Sucrose 278  Toddalia 301 

Sugar 198,  203,  278  Tolu 27 

Sugar  cane 199  Tolu,  balsam  of 27,  114 

Sugar  of  the  grape 194  Toluif  era  balsamum 27 

Sugar,  pine 196  Toluifera  Pereirse 26 

Sumach 271  Tolutanum  balsamum 27 

SUMBUL 332  Tooth  preservative 178 

Surinam  quassia 259  TRAGACANTHA 337 

Susruta 19,  48,  53  Tragacanth,  gum  of 337 

Swaim's  Panacea 144,  149  Tree,  baobab 329 

Swamp  hellebore 350  Tree,  cousso 123 

Sweet  almond 15  Tree,  fig 112 

Sweet  birch 145  Tree,  soldier's 167,  212 

Sweet  birch  oil 145  TRITICUM 338 

Sweet  and  bitter  orange ....  25  Trocar,  vegetable 18 

Sweet  flag 33  Trochisci 143 

Sweet  wood 154  Trumpet  creeper 154 

Swertia  Chirayita 53  Truxillo  leaves  (coca) 91 

Sycamore 200  Tuber,  purgative 176 

Synopsis  Plantarum  Dia-  Turkish  colocynth 107 

phoricarum Ill  Turpentine 335 

Syrup,  buckthorn 264  Turpentine,  Strasburg 335 

Syrup,  compound,  of  sarsa-  ULMUS 338 

parilla 144,  217  Ulmus  fulva 338 

Syrup,  poppy 224  Uncaria  Gambier 143 

Syrup,  sarsaparilla 145  U.  S.  Agricultural  Report. .  202 

Tahiti  vanilla 347  Uragoga  Ipecacuanha 168 

Tamarind 332  Urginea  maritima 298 

TAMARINDUS 332  UVA  URSA 339 

Tamarindus  indica 332  Vacha 33 

Tanghin  poison-nut 239  Vaina 341 


INDEX 


449 


Page 

VALERIAN 124,  339 

Valerian,  American 124 

Valeriana  officinalis 339 

Valley,  lily  of 109 

VANILLA 340 

Vanilla,  Bourbon 347 

Vanilla,  cultivation  of 344 

Vanilla,  early  history 342 

Vanilla,  gathering  and  cur- 
ing    346 

Vanilla,  Mauritius 347 

Vanilla,  Mexican 347 

Vanilla  planifolia 343,  350 

Vanilla,  Seychelles 347 

Vanilla,  South  American. .  .   347 

Vanilla,  Tahiti 347 

Vanillin 340,  348 

Vanillinum 340 

Vanillism 350 

Vegetable  trocar 18 

Veratrum 350 

Veratrum  album 350 

VERATRUM  VIRIDE 350 

Vermifuge,  Santonin 288 

Veronica  virginica 180 

Viburnum  Lentago 353 

VIBURNUM  OPULUS 352 

VIBURNUM  PRUNIFOLIUM  .  . .  353 

Vicugni 103 

Viddha-parni 223 

Vijaya 44 

Vine,  colocynth 105 

Vine,  wild 235 

Viola  Ipecacuanha 171 

Virginia  snakeroot 319 

Visha 4 

Vishamushti 223 

Vouacapoua  Araroba 54 

Wahoo 135 

Water,  hamamelis 162 

Watermelon 105 

Water  (red)  ordeal 329 

Water,  rose 273 

Water,  soda 263 

Wax,  bees' 214 

Waythorn 264 

Waynes'  Panacea 323 

Weed,  emetic 184 

Weed,  itch 350 

Weed,  Jamestown 323 


Page 

Weed,  Jimson 323 

Weed,  rattle 55 

Wellcome  Research  Labora- 
tory    2 

Welsh  physicians 264,  356 

Welsh  Society,  Mss 3 

Whiskey 52 

White  anjudan 2*1 

White  alkaloid  of  hydrastis  166 

White  cohosh 55 

White  hellebore 350 

White  ipecacoanha 173 

White  jalap 176 

White  jessamine 150 

White  maple 197 

White  mustard 319 

White  oak 261 

White  pepper 122,  123 

White  poison  vine 150 

Wild  blackberry  bark 257 

Wild  cherry 257 

Wild  nard 340 

Wild  plum 200 

Wild  vine 235 

Wild  woodbine 150 

Willows 200 

Wine  of  poppy  heads 224 

Wine,  palm 220 

Wintergreen 144 

Witch  hazel 162 

Woodbine,  wild 150 

Wood,  chittim 264 

Wood,  fennel 292 

Wood,  sweet 154 

Wormseed 287 

XANTHOXYLUM 354 

Xanthoxylum    americanum  354 
Xanthoxylum  Clava-Her- 

culis 354 

Yellow  cinchona 62 

Yellow  jasmine .  . , 150 

Yellow  parilla 34 

Yellow  puccoon 164 

Yellow  root 164 

Yerba  santa 132 

Zardah 215 

Zarza  parilla 288 

ZEA 355 

ZlNQIBER 355 

Zingiber  officinale 355 


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